GUWAHATI, India - A helicopter packedwith Indian tourists crashed on Tuesday in mountains near the
Chinese border and 17 people were killed, police said.The helicopter was carrying 23 people and caught fire as itwas preparing to land in the northeastern state of ArunanchalPradesh. It crashed into a gorge.
"Six people have been rescued with severe burn injuries,"said G. Padu, a senior civil servant in the Tawang districtwhere the crash took place. "The rest of them are dead. Effortsare on to recover their bodies."
The death toll was likely to rise, Padu said.
There were 18 passengers, including two children, and fivecrew members on the Mi-17 helicopter, owned by the state-ownedPawan Hans transport company.