Massive search on for two missing ICG pilots, diver after chopper crashes into Arabian Sea

Rescue and search teams of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) have launched a massive search operation for two pilots and a diver on board a Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) that crashed into the Arabian Sea near Porbandar during the intervening night of Sep 1 and 2, ICG officials said.

The Coast Guard has deployed four ships and two aircraft for the search and rescue of the missing pilots and a diver.

A diver who was on board has been rescued by the search and rescue teams and the search for the another diver and the two pilots is underway, according to officials.

The condition of the diver recovered from the sea to said to be stable.

The helicopter on a medical evacuation mission with two pilots and two divers on board was reportedly forced to make an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea off the Porbandar coast during a rescue operation.

The ICG said the incident took place while the helicopter was approaching the vessel for the evacuation.

“ICG’s ALH which saved 67 lives during recent cyclonic weather in Gujarat was launched around 2300 hours yesterday for medical evacuation of a seriously injured crew onboard Indian Flagged Motor Tanker Hari Leela, about 45 km from Porbandar into the sea, in response to a request received from the Master of the vessel,” the ICG said in a statement.

“ICG ALH helicopter with 4 aircrews on board, during the said operation reportedly was forced to make an emergency landing at sea. One crew has been recovered and the search for the remaining 3 crew is in progress. Aircraft wreckage has been found.

The incident happened whilst the helicopter was approaching the vessel for the evacuation. Presently , ICG has pressed 04 ships, and two aircraft for search operation,” it added.

The rescue operations took place in different talukas (a subdivision of a district) of Porbandar and Dwarka districts. On the first day of the operation, the Indian Coast Guard helicopter rescued 33 people from the perilous situation amid treacherous windy conditions and low visibility, ICG said.

ICG continued its efforts, rescuing another 28 individuals, bringing the total number of lives saved to 61 on the second day, it added.

The incident comes amid the completion of a critical safety upgrade on the military’s ALH fleet, initiated by state-run plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The plane maker agency in recent times has upgraded control systems and installed them on the locally made choppers to improve their airworthiness following a string of accidents last year.

The Dhruv fleet, plagued by a nagging design issue, was grounded several times last year after the accidents called into question its flight safety record.

This led to a comprehensive design review of the helicopter’s booster control rods followed by a drive to replace the flaw-ridden existing ones with new rods in each ALH, according to media reports. The armed forces operate around 330 twin-engine ALHs, designed and developed by HAL.

Gujarat has been experiencing heavy rain for the past few days, leading to parts of Gujarat being inundated and displacing hundreds of residents to safer locations due to severe floods.