A day after its chopper carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu went missing, state-run helicopter company Pawan Hans today announced suspension of commercial operations in the northeast.

"In view of the missing helicopter, Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL) has put on hold its commercial operations in the northeast for the time being so that these helicopters are available for search and rescue and the DGCA reviews the current situation," a Pawan Hans official said.

In a statement, PHHL's DGM (Engineering) Sanjeev Razdan said the chopper carrying Khandu, Eurocopter-built AS350 B 3, was brand new and acquired in mid-2010.

The aircraft had a certificate of airworthiness from DGCA which was valid till July 2015 and "no discrepancies were found in respect to maintenance of this helicopter," he said.

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