Arunachal Pradesh CM’s chopper crash site located, bodies sighted

Itanagar/New Delhi: India's home minster, P Chidamabaram, has confirmed that a search party sent by a circle officer had located the crash site of the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister's Pawan Hans helicopter and that atleast three bodies had been sighted. The crash site lies on the flight path of the helicopter.

In a strange development the ministry of external affairs has issued a statement in the name of the minister SM Krishna expressing his condolences at the passing away of the state chief minister Dorjee Khandu. The statement comes even before search and rescue teams have reached the site and any positive identification of the bodies made.

Since the matter clearly rests within the jurisdiction of the home ministry it was appropriate that the home minister made a statement announcing discovery of the crash site. But the UPA 2 government at the centre has a track record to maintain and the loose cannon syndrome is evidently in full flow with the external affairs minister Krishna announcing condolences before it was appropriate to do so.    

Local authorities are quite properly sticking to procedure and insisting that the deputy commissioner's  office at Tawang will first make positive identification before any announcements are made concerning the chief minster' s demise.

It appears that locals from the area reached a place overlooking the site and discovered the chopper and also spotted three bodies lying alongside. The three bodies sighted apparently include those of the chief minister and of Yeshi Lhamu, sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup.