An army helicopter on its way to evacuate an ailing soldier near the Line of Control crashed in Baraub area of the Gurez sector on Friday afternoon, killing the co-pilot and injuring the pilot.

An army spokesman said a Cheetah helicopter was on a routine mission to “evacuate an ailing soldier from a forward post” when it crashed.

“The helicopter lost communication contact with the forward post at Gujran, Baraub. A search operation on foot was immediately launched by the Indian Army alongside search and rescue helicopters, which were pressed into service,” the spokesman said.

“The wreckage of the crashed helicopter was found in snow-bound Gujran Nallah area of North Kashmir’s Bandipora. Pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter were grievously injured in the crash,” he added.

Major Sankalp Yadav, the 29-year-old co-pilot, succumbed to his injuries at the 92 Base Hospital.

The army said the injured pilot, who is of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, was critical but stable. He has been shifted to the Northern Command hospital in Jammu’s Udhampur for specialised treatment.

“Events leading to the crash of the helicopter are being ascertained,” he said.

Major Yadav, a resident of Jaipur in Rajasthan, was commissioned in 2015. He is survived by his father.

A purported video of the crash showed a chopper struggling to stay in air in a mountainous area capped with snow.

The tragic incident has come three months after a helicopter crash killed Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 12 soldiers, in Tamil Nadu.

Defence forces have suffered multiple such incidents in Jammu and Kashmir in recent months.

Two pilots of the rank of Major were killed after an army helicopter crash-landed in a dense forest area of Patnitop in Udhampur in Jammu in September.

The deceased were identified as Major Rohit Kumar and Major Anuj Rajput.

A month earlier, army Lieutenant Colonel A.S. Batth and Major Jayant Joshi, both pilots, died after an Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv (ALI-Weapons Systems Integrated) crashed into the Ranjit Sagar dam lake in Jammu’s Kathua district.

The body of Lt Colonel A.S. Batth was recovered 12 days after the accident while that of Major Joshi was found after 75 days.