Minister Ricardo Patino announced the sale of the Dhruv helicopters 

Three Dhruv helicopters, of seven that were bought by Ecuador in 2008 to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (Hal), will be put on sale “soon,” announced Thursday morning Defense Minister Ricardo Patino.

The Secretary of State told journalists that “the armed forces will no longer use these aircraft,” after four of them suffered accidents in recent years.

“We are in the process of selling the helicopters; we will not use them. These helicopters will be put into a sale process,” Patino said.

In his opinion “these helicopters are used in many parts of the world and are in demand, we are going to put them on sale,” he added, and he avoided giving details of costs.

The seven Indian-made aircraft were purchased for more than $ 42 million to the HAL company after a procurement process initiated by the Ministry of Defence and the Ecuadorian Air Force in 2008.

This acquisition was questioned by the late General Jorge Gabela, who was assassinated in 2010, amid an alleged act of common crime.