National News

Pawan Hans Chopper With 9 On Board Crashes Off Mumbai High; 4 People Die

Sentinel Digital Desk

Mumbai: A brand new Pawan Hans Sikorsky chopper with nine people on board met with a fatal accident and crashed into the Arabian Sea around 50 nautical miles off the coast of Mumbai on June 28.

The accident has claimed the lives of four people, including three Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) employees.

The chopper happened to be one of the six Sikorsky S-76D helicopters that Pawan Hans had recently leased from the Milestone Aviation Group.

Company officials informed that the helicopter was just around 4-5 minutes away from reaching its destination — ONGC's Sagar Kiran rig — when the incident occurred.

The chopper went down at around 11.45am, just one nautical mile away from Sagar Kiran. However, it did not sink and managed to stay afloat with the help of the attached floaters, helping rescuers pull out all the nine, including two pilots, after ONGC and navy/coast guard scrambled in one of the fastest rescue missions in the western offshore.

An official said that out of the nine people who were rescued, four were in an unconscious state and they were airlifted in a navy chopper to a Mumbai hospital, where they were declared dead.

Three of the deceased were employees of ONGC, the state-owned firm which had hired helicopter service from Pawan Hans to support its oil and gas exploration and production operations in the western offshore. The fourth victim was employed by a contractor working for ONGC.

The reason behind this incident is yet to be ascertained but western offshore had inclement weather and there was a swell in the sea.

Officials said that an inquiry has been initiated by the ONGC to look into the matter. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is also likely to order a separate inquiry.

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