Eyewitnesses in Bhutan say they saw chopper trying to land

Official sources in the Arunachal Pradesh Government have said they are attempting to get in touch with some witnesses in Bhutan who have claimed seeing a chopper descending in their area, and then taking off in a north easterly direction.
The statement came as the search operation for missing Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others was called off on Sunday due to inclement weather and receding light. The Government of India is trying to get in touch with the Bhutanese locals.
Meanwhile, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released images of the area where its two satellites were used to try to find the missing chopper.
The chief minister's principal secretary, Yeshi Tsering, has also revealed that he received a phone call from a person who told him that the chief minister was safe in Bhutan. He suggested that it could have been Khandu. But this is yet to be corroborated and confirmed.
Pawan Hans has defended itself by saying that the missing helicopter was four-months old and in perfect condition technically.
In a statement, Pawan Hans said VIPs had used the chopper previously without experiencing any problem.
The defence of the chopper came as Chief Minister Khandu's adviser Kiren Rijiju said there was need to take a strong view on the maintenance capabilities of Pawan Hans.
He said the maintenance of choppers by the organization was erratic. He also said that as of now there was no official confirmation about the chopper landing in Bhutan.
The missing Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 helicopter that took off from Tawang at 9.50 a.m. on Saturday lost communication with the ground after it flew past the Sela Pass along the Chinese border about 20 to 25 minutes later. The helicopter was scheduled to land in Itanagar at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday.
On Saturday, several media reports quoted Arunachal Pradesh Governor General (retired) J J Singh and Chief Secretary Bam as saying that the helicopter had landed safely somewhere in eastern Bhutan adjoining Tawang district and that the same helicopter was flying back to Guwahati with the chief minister on board.
Bhutan, however, later denied that any Indian helicopter had landed in its territory, but said a search operation was launched following request from New Delhi.
Apart from Khandu, the people on board included crew members Captain J S Babbar and Captain K S Malick, Khandu's security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lamu, sister of Tawang legislator Tsewang Dhondup.