A helicopter of the Indian Army crashed in eastern Bhutan this afternoon, killing both the pilots, official sources said.

The single-engine helicopter was on its way from Khirmu in India's Arunanchal Pradesh to Yonphula in Bhutan and went out of radio and visual contact around 1:00 pm, our New Delhi correspondent reports

Both the pilots - one Indian and the other from Royal Bhutanese Army - were killed, they said.

Ground search and rescue operations were launched and the wreckage of the helicopter was located, the sources said adding that the crash took place near Yonphula.

A high-level inquiry has been ordered, the sources said.