The army’s Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) with Lt Gen Ranbir Singh and seven others on board was on a sortie from Udhampur to Poonch when it developed a technical snag, according to a source

The army’s Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) with Lt Gen Ranbir Singh and seven others on board was on a sortie from Udhampur to Poonch when it developed a technical snag, according to a source.
A helicopter of the Indian Army carrying the chief of the force’s Northern Command Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh and other officers made an emergency landing following a technical glitch in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch on Thursday, officials said.

The army’s Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) with Lt Gen Ranbir Singh and seven others on board was on a sortie from Udhampur to Poonch when it developed a technical snag, according to a source.

The army termed this as a 'forced landing' but the occupants are some of the luckiest individuals alive to have survived. Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, who became the face of the surgical strikes with his precise briefings, has someone looking over him Twitted Manu Pubby

“A helicopter with Army Commander Northern Command on-board has executed a forced landing on account of technical snag in general area of Poonch. Crew and passengers are safe,” the army said in a statement.

The Northern Command chief was on a visit to the forward areas south of Pir Panjal to take stock of the situation along the Line of Control (LoC), the source said.

“The ALH made an emergency landing in a general area called Mandi Bedar in Poonch and all seven on board, including Lt General Ranbir Singh, are safe,” he added.

Pakistan has been continuously opening heavy fire on Indian posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch and Rajouri districts since August 5 when India revoked Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and divided the state into two Union territories.

Poonch is around 250 km from Jammu.