The helicopter caught fire when the pilots were trying to land the helicopter. Both the pilots on board died in the accident. There were no passengers on board.
The incident took place during a flying practice at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur under Mana police station limits at around 9:10 pm, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Prashant Agrawal.The deceased were identified as Captian Gopal Krishna Panda and Captain A P Shrivastava, said the police officer.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel expressed grief over the tragedy and condoled the death of the pilots.Baghel tweeted, “Just got sad news about a state helicopter crashing at the airport in Raipur. In this tragic accident, both our pilots Captain Panda and Captain Shrivastava passed away. May God give strength to their family members and peace to the departed soul.”
