GAUHATI: An Indian air force transport helicopter crashed in the mountainous northeast of the country near the border with China on Friday, with up to 11 people feared dead, a defence official said.

The Mi-17 Russian-made helicopter was travelling from Tawang in the state of Arunachal Pradesh to Gauhati in Assam with 11 on board when it crashed in bad weather, the official told AFP, asking not to be named.

“Preliminary reports indicate that it could be due to poor visibility,” he said, adding that there was fog and snow in the area of the crash.

A spokeswoman for the air force in New Delhi, Priya Joshi, confirmed the crash, but she said there were seven people on board.

Arunachal Pradesh is a heavily militarised area of India that borders Tibet and is claimed partly by China.

The state was the scene of fighting in 1962 when China invaded India.