A UH-72 Lakota helicopter of the 3rd Army with five officers on board including Maj Gen Nopporn Ruanchan, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, lost contact with flight control about 30 minutes after taking off from Pang Ma Pha district of Mae Hong Son, according to media reports.
Lt Gen Somsak Nilbancherdkul, the 3rd Army commander, has confirmed the report.
Lt Gen Somsak said the helicopter lost contact with the flight control tower at 10.30am, about 30 minutes after t aking off from Pang Ma Pha district after completing a flood relief operation. It was returning to Phitsanulok.
The helicopter flew to Mae Hong Son on Saturday afternoon for a relief operation in Mae Hong Son's Pai and Pang Ma Pha districts which were hit by flash floods.
Lt Gen Somsak said he had ordered all units under the 3rd Army, especially 36th Ranger Task Force, to look for the helicopter.
Reports said that apart from Maj Gen Nopporn, who is also chief of Naresuan Task Force, four other officers were on board the aircraft. They were Capt Suthan Onmuang and Lt Navapat Maneechote, the p ilots, and Chief Warrant Officer Chaisakda Thaso and Sgt Maj Mongkolchai Roo-ngan, the flight engineers.
It´s UH-72A 9656 from the 4 InfDiv based in PHS.
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