Article Posted on : - Dec 10, 2012

The Mirage 2000 fighter jets of IAF.

NEW DELHI (PTI): Fifty-four defence aircraft, including combat planes and helicopters, have been lost in crashes in the last three years in which 66 defence personnel and six civilians were killed, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday.

In 2009-10, 16 aircraft were lost in crashes, 17 of them were lost in 2010-11, 15 aircraft crashed in 2011-12 while six of them have been lost so far in 2012-13, the Minister said in written reply to a Lok Sabha query.

The aircraft lost in the crashes include two Su-30 MKIs, 11 MiG 21s, two Mirage 2000s, 10 Cheetah/Chetak choppers along with Mi-17, MiG 27 and Jaguar aircraft.

"In the above accidents, a total of 66 defence personnel and six civilians have lost their lives," Antony said.

He said all the crashes are probed by Court of Inquiries (CoIs) and their recommendations and findings are implemented by the authorities.

Answering another query, the Minister said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has worked on one road project in Myanmar which will connect that country with India.

"Only one road work/project (namely resurfacing of road Tamu-Kyigine-Kalewa and Kyigone-Kalemyo) connecting India and Myanmar is under execution by BRO," he said.

Antony informed the House that the work on the project was completed in 2001.

He said that BRO is also executing a project for "double-laning of the road up to Tawang and road beyond Tawang is motorable."

There are constraints regarding availability of material, labour and equipment in that area for which several steps have been taken, he said.