Curious onlookers near the Army helicopter that made an emergency landing at Kulithigai near Madhanur in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district on April 6, 2018

The helicopter was flying from HAL to Chennai carrying officials who are to take part in the Defence Expo when it developed a technical snag

An Indian Army helicopter — IA 2123 — made an emergency landing at Kulithigai near Madhanur in Vellore district on April 6.

“The helicopter made an emergency landing due to a technical fault. The four-member crew including Lieutenant Colonel Akshay Khalia and Major Puneet were flying from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bengaluru to Chennai. A team of three formations were coming from HAL to Chennai to take part in the Defence Expo when this helicopter developed a technical snag,” said P. Pakalavan, Superintendent of Police, Vellore.

On finding a large barren land at Kulithigai near Madhanur, the ‘Rudra’ helicopter safely landed at about 1 p.m., he said, adding that a team in another helicopter has flown in to attend to the technical fault.