At least three Indian Army soldiers were injured after they fell from a helicopter in a freak incident during rehearsals for Army Day celebrations in New Delhi. The Army Day is celebrated on January 15.
A video has been making rounds on social media which shows the jawans sliding down on a rope tied to the chopper. As the soldiers start to descent, the rope is seen slipping off the helicopter which results in a free fall.
This is horrifying. A video doing the rounds about an apparent accident during Army parade day rehearsal.
— Manu Pubby (@manupubby) January 10, 2018
Rope slips off an ALH during slithering operation. Several injuries.
Cross checking. pic.twitter.com/vy0zJL586I
According to reports, the incident took place on January 9 and the soldiers are currently undergoing treatment at Army Hospital Research And Referral in New Delhi.
According to reports, the injured soldiers were part of the parade that will be held at Army Parade Ground in Delhi Cantonment. The grand finale will be a combat demonstration, which showcases battle drills and combat techniques of the Army units. Combat actions include strafing runs depicted with helicopters for insertion and extraction of soldiers behind enemy lines.
The incident raises questions on the safety measures taken for the execution of such drills.
The Indian Army will celebrate its 70th Army Day on January 15. The Chief of the Army Staff will review the parade at Army Parade Ground in Delhi Cantonment and award Sena Medals for individual acts of gallantry and COAS Unit Citations for commendable performances.
The Army Day commemorates the day when General (later Field Marshal) KM Carriappa took over the command of Army from General Sir FRR Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army post Independence.
The incident on Thursday reminds us of another operational malfunction in MIG-23 which had resulted in a crash in Rajasthan's Balesar village in July 2017. It was a training fighter aircraft which belonged to the Indian Army.
In another incident in July 2017, an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) had gone missing soon after take-off from Sagalee at around 3:50 pm, on July 4. Later the debris of the chopper along with two mutilated bodies were discovered from Hostalam village, about 30 km from Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.
