Sukhoi chopper crash: Mortal remains of pilot Achudev reach Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: The mortal remains of Flight Lieutenant S Achudev, one of the two pilots killed in a crash of a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet of the Indian Air Force, reached Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

District administration officials and Air Force officers received the mortal remains before being taken to the house at Sreekaryam in the city where Achudev’s parents live.

Minister for Tourism and Co-operation Kadakampally Surendran, District Collector and Air Force officials reached the home to pay their last respects. The body is being kept for the public to pay tribute from 11 am to 3 pm.

Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan is scheduled to pay his last respects Friday before it is taken to his native place in Calicut. The mortal remains will be cremated at the cemetery of his ancestral home at Pantheerankavu in Calicut on Saturday.

Mortal remains of the two pilots -- Achudev and Squadron Leader Pankaj -- of the crashed Sukhoi-30 were recovered Wednesday from the crash site in dense forest area on hills in Assam-Arunachal Pradesh eight days after it had gone missing on May 23 when the aircraft crashed approximately 60 km from Tezpur Airbase in Assam after taking off from there on a routine training mission.