Coast Guard chopper crashes off Porbandar coast, two killed
Four crew members were aboard the helicopter when it crashed and went missing after it took off at 11 pm on Monday in response to a distress call from Hari Leela, an Indian-flagged oil tanker while it was sailing at sea off Porbandar coast.
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ICG said there were four crew members on board the helicopter, and one of them was rescued, a massive search and rescue operation has been launched to find the others. (File Photo)A pilot and an air crew member have died, while search is on for another pilot after a helicopter of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) crashed into the sea off the Porbandar coast while they were on a mission to address a medical emergency on board a tanker late on Monday.
Four crew members were aboard the helicopter when it crashed and went missing after it took off at 11 pm on Monday in response to a distress call from Hari Leela, an Indian-flagged oil tanker while it was sailing at sea off Porbandar coast. While one of the crew members was rescued, search was on for the other three.
“Wreckage of the helicopter has been located and one pilot and one aircrew diver are confirmed dead. They were found dead inside the helicopter itself. The pilot was found strapped to his seat inside the aircraft,” said the sources, adding: “Search and rescue operation is still on for the other pilot who is still missing.”
In a statement on its official X account, the ICG said the helicopter took off at 11 pm on Monday in response to a distress call from Hari Leela, an Indian-flagged oil tanker while it was sailing at sea off Porbandar coast. “The helicopter had taken off for medical evacuation of a crew member who had suffered head injuries on board a tanker. However, something happened while the helicopter was approaching the tanker. The helicopter made a hard landing and then ditched into the sea,” an officer said.
The sources added that the incident occurred some 34 nautical miles off Porbandar. “The pilot of the helicopter was in contact with stations on the land as well as the captain of the tanker. Having approached the tanker, the pilot of the helicopter told the captain of the tanker that they would cut one more circle of the tanker and then lower a bucket to evacuate the injured crew member of the tanker. However, something went wrong after that and the aircraft made a hard landing in the water,” said the sources, adding: “The emergency floaters of the helicopter got deployed and efforts are on to salvage the aircraft.”
The ICG has deployed four ships and two aircraft for the rescue efforts. An ICG officer told The Indian Express that the helicopter had taken off from ICG station in Porbandar. While pilots fly helicopters, air crew divers conduct the operation of shifting persons from sea or from on board a sea platform to the helicopter using buckets and winches.
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