Copter down, 24 missing at sea

Mandloi and his colleague A G Mhatre managed to open the cabin door and launch an inflatable dingy. They were adrift for 90 minutes before being rescued.

Others were not so lucky. Bodies of four ONGC personnel were recovered from the crash site by late evening. Coast Guard ships, aircraft, a Navy frigate and ONGC divers joined the rescue operation.

Meanwhile on shore, Union Minister for Petroleum Ram Naik was gheraoed for over an hour by angry ONGC employees and relatives of the crash victims. Led by members of the Shiv Sena, they did not allow the minister to speak to the media until he heard them out.

Irate employees criticised the corporation8217;s safety record and said the helicopter crash had only brought things to a boil. 8216;8216;So many accidents take place at the rigs almost everyday,8217;8217; alleged Ashok Kurade of the Petroleum Employees8217; Union. 8216;8216;It is all hushed up by the ministry.8217;8217;

The union has announced a strike tomorrow. 8216;8216;No one will go to the rigs or work in other offices in Mumbai,8217;8217; said L K Mirchandani, senior materials management officer and union member. In the melee, anxious relatives were sidelined. Everytime a chopper landed at the ONGC helipad, relatives rushed to the heavily guarded gates.

The 26-seater Mi-17 helicopter, chartered from MESCO, took off from the Juhu helipad to head for Sagar Kiran, an offshore oil rig, and then Sagar Jyoti in part of what is called the Neelam Oil Fields.

Preliminary reports indicated that the chopper 8212; used extensively by the IAF and with distinction in the Kargil war 8212; lost height and dropped suddenly.

That seems evident from the fact that not many of the crew members could don life-jackets in time. They should have had life-jackets on, but didn8217;t seem to, ONGC sources told The Indian Express. Insiders said the wind velocity was around 20 nautical miles per hour at the time of the crash 8212; in other words, it was pretty gusty.

The pilots Captain Jaiswal and Captain Ravindran and the flight engineer have been killed, said V K Sharma, Director, Offshore, ONGC.

8216;8216;Once the helicopter is removed from the sea, all inquiries will be conducted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA since the DGCA is responsible for certifying the helicopters for flying. ONGC does not have the expertise and will not be conducting any inquiry,8217;8217; Sharma said.

The survivors were shifted to Sagar Kiran before they could be evaucated to the Juhu helipad. The dead have been claimed by MESCO.

While the Aviation ministry will probe the airworthiness of the helicopter, Naik8217;s ministry will probe the safety and security of the rigs, as demanded by the union.

On an average, there are eight helicopter sorties carrying more than 250 offshore workers daily to the 32-odd oil rigs dotting the offshore oilfields called Bombay High.

There have been previous crashes. A Dolphin helicopter was salvaged after it ditched near Sagar Samrat last year.

The general manager of a private oil company died in a crash near Bombay High in 1998.

Meanwhile, Naik said the next of kin of the deceased will be given compensation as per the ONGC norms which includes financial assistance of Rs two to six lakh.

They will also be eligible for the ONGC Composite Social Security Benefit Scheme which is Rs five to 10 lakh. The families will also be granted air insurance amounting to Rs 7.50 lakh each.