ONGC helicopter falls into Arabian sea; 3 employees among 4 dead

Four persons, including 3 Oil and Natural Gas Corporation employees, lost their lives when a Pawan Hans helicopter with two pilots and seven others on board fell into the Arabian Sea about 50 nautical miles from the Mumbai coast.

The helicopter managed to stay afloat with the help of the attached floaters for some time, helping rescuers pull out all the nine people, a company official said.

Four of them were unconscious and were airlifted in a Navy chopper to a hospital in Mumbai, where they were declared dead, he added.

The Indian Coast Guard said that it has sent maritime and air assets to rescue the helicopter's seven passengers and two pilots. The ICG had previously tweeted that the ONGC Pawan Hans helicopter had crashed, but had now removed the message.

The helicopter, which carried six ONGC employees and one contractor working for the firm, was forced to land using floaters, which are linked to such choppers that transport workers and goods from shore to offshore locations, according to news agency PTI.

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The chopper was attempting to land at the rig, located some 50 nautical miles from the Mumbai coast, when the incident took place. About 1.5 km from the landing zone on the rig, the chopper fell into the sea, an official said.

The circumstances surrounding the emergency landing were unclear. Other details were also expected. 

A Coast Guard ship at sea was sent to the location, while another ship proceeded out from Mumbai to assist with rescue efforts, authorities added. A Coast Guard helicopter deployed a life raft for the survivors.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Mumbai has activated the International Safety Net (ISN). Officials stated that the Coast Guard is liaising with the Indian Navy and ONGC to mobilise and boost the rescue effort.

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Five people were rescued by Offshore Supply Vessel Malviya-16 which was diverted by MRCC Mumbai to join rescue operations. It deployed vessels from nearby installations to pull out the personnel onboard the helicopter. ONGC has several rigs and installations in the Arabia Sea that are used to produce oil and gas from reservoirs lying below the seabed.

(With PTI inputs) 

• Arabian sea
• ONGC
• emergency landing
• helicopter
• emergency
• ONGC helicopter