Jammu, Oct 30 (IANS) One person was killed as an Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopter carrying four people, including two officers, crashed into the Chenab river in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir Friday afternoon, police said.

The chopper went down into the waters of the Chenab near Assar, about 150 km northeast of Jammu. The body recovered is suspected to be that of the chopper pilot, police said.

Local residents, police teams and army troops including divers are carrying out rescue operations.

Defence sources said some parts of the wrecked helicopter were scattered in the area while the main portion fell into a lake of a hydro-electric dam built on the Chenab river. Divers have been pressed into rescue operation while the army troops and police were conducting searches of the mountainous forest area for the other people.

‘The rescuers have recovered one body while hunt is on for the others,’ said a defence source.

The MI-17 helicopter with a wing commander, a flight lieutenant and two sergeants took off from Jammu at 12.45 p.m. for Doda.

‘According to indicators with us the mishap took place around 1 p.m. As per defence rules the identity of the killed cannot be disclosed before the family knows it,’ he said.

The police said it cannot comment on whether there was any sabotage behind the crash in the militancy infested part of Doda district, until details of the investigations are gathered.

‘But it appears to be an accident,’ he said.