Pune-based army officer dies in chopper crash

A pall of gloom descended on Sahakarnagar area of the city on Saturday following news of the death of an army officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mandar Nene (36), in Friday’s helicopter crash near Tawang, in Arunachal Pradesh.

Nene was among a dozen army personnel killed in the Mi-17 chopper crash in the course of a regular air maintenance sortie.

The helicopter was on its way from Tawang army base, about 9,000 feet above sea level, to Guwahati (Assam) when the accident took place. The helicopter crashed at Bomdir, about 7 km from Tawang.

Nene’s body is expected to arrive in the city on Monday. He is survived by wife Priya, 10-year-old son Advait and 6-year-old daughter Aastha.

The entire family, including the victim’s aged father, Suhas Nane, are in deep shock after receiving the tragic news. Suhas is a retired navy officer and his younger son Vivek is also in the Indian Army at the rank of a Major.

He is presently posted in Akola. An alumnus of SP College, Nene joined the NDA in 1993.