Tezpur, Oct. 7: The bodies of seven defence personnel, who were killed in the chopper crash in Arunachal Pradesh yesterday, have been sent to their families for the last rites, sources said today.

The Mi-17 V5 helicopter had taken off from Khirmu helipad in Tawang district with five IAF and two army personnel on board around 6.30am before crashing 60km away around 6.59am. The chopper was carrying supplies to the army forward post in Topu Ghar, near the Yangste area.

The crash site is 120km to the north of Tawang.

This was the second routine air maintenance sortie of the day for the aircraft at a forward area. The chopper crashed close to the dropping zone and caught fire immediately.

Defence spokesperson in Tezpur Lt Col Sombit Ghosh said the mortal remains of the deceased were flown to their respective hometowns for performing their last rites.

Wing Commander Vikas Upadhyay, the captain, hailed from Dwarka in New Delhi, and he had been commissioned in June 2003. He is survived by his wife Squadron Leader (retd) G. Tejasvini and a daughter.

Co-pilot Sqn Ldr S. Tewari, who hailed from Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, and was commissioned in 2010, is survived by his wife Prakrity.

Master Warrant Officer A.K. Singh, joined the IAF in July 1984, and is survived by his wife Meena Devi, two sons and a daughter.

Sergeant Satish Kumar, who hailed from Kasni in Rajasthan and joined the IAF in September 2007, is survived by his wife Kiran Khanda and a son.

Flight engineer Sergeant Gautam Kumar, who hailed from Ailum village in Uttar Pradesh, joined the IAF in June 2006.

Sepoy Shashi Balaji, who hailed from Neelankori in Tamil Nadu and joined the army in 2003, is survived by his wife B.V. Kanmani and two sons. Sepoy H.N. Deka, from Paghali village in Assam's Morigaon district, is survived by his wife Sushrita Deka and a daughter.

The Eastern Air Command has ordered a court of inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident.