Sep 04, 2024 10:11 PM IST
The Coast Guard on Tuesday recovered the bodies of the other pilot, Deputy Commandant Vipin Babu, and diver Karan Singh
The pilot of a Indian Coast Guard Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH Mk-III) that went down in the Arabian Sea near Porbandar on Monday night is still missing, even as search and rescue efforts using ships and aircraft were intensified to locate him, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday.
Rescuers found the pilot’s seat missing from the chopper, which is now floating inverted. The seat was dislodged by impact and the ALH nose is missing too, the officials said.
The missing pilot, Commandant Rakesh Rana, 38, is the commanding officer of the Coast Guard’s Porbandar-based 835 Squadron to which the ALH belonged. It was carrying four personnel, including two pilots and two flight divers.
The Coast Guard on Tuesday recovered the bodies of the other pilot, Deputy Commandant Vipin Babu, and diver Karan Singh. The other flight diver was rescued on Tuesday.
In light of the incident, the Coast Guard has ordered a one-time safety inspection of its ALH fleet with focus on flying controls and transmission system. The fleet has been temporarily grounded. The Coast Guard operates 16 ALHs, designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The doomed helicopter was launched on Monday for a medical evacuation mission following an emergency on board a tanker, and ditched into the sea 15 minutes later at about 11.15 pm. Ditching refers to an aircraft making an emergency landing in water.
The same helicopter was recently at the centre of the rescue and relief work in flood-ravaged Gujarat.
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