- The ICG has deployed four ships and two aircraft to rescue the missing crew member
- Cremation of the mortal remains is being carried out as per service traditions and honour.
- The fuselage of the ICG ALH helicopter is also being recovered for investigation
NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, SEPT 4
The mortal remains of two Indian Coast Guard (ICG) officials, who went missing after a rescue helicopter crashed into the Arabian Sea off Porbandar coast in Gujarat on Monday night, have been recovered. The search for the third missing person continues.
The crash happened around 11 pm on Monday during a mission to evacuate a seriously injured crew member from the Indian-flagged vessel approximately 45 kilometres off the coast of Porbandar.
A statement issued by the ICG read: “On 02 Sep 2024, India Coast Guard ALH helicopter bearing frame No. CG 863 was launched at 2300 hrs to evacuate an injured crew member from the Motor Tanker Hari Leela off Porbandar, Gujarat. The helicopter had to make an emergency hard landing and ditched into the sea. One crew member recovered, and the search for the remaining three crew members is in progress.”
The chopper had four personnel onboard, of which one was rescued immediately. A search was launched, and the agency deployed four ships and two aircraft to search and rescue the missing crew members.
The bodies recovered were the bodies of Commandant Vipin Babu and P/NVK Karan Singh. Cremation of the mortal remains is being carried out as per service traditions and honour, Porbandar Coast Guard DIG Pankaj Agarwal told reporters.
He added that the search efforts have been intensified to locate remaining 01 crew, Commandant Rakesh Kumar Rana, TM who was the Pilot in Command of the mission. ICG ships and air assets have been at search, right from the accident, and efforts have been further augmented by resources from Indian Navy and other stakeholders in the marine domain.
The cause of the emergency landing is still under investigation.
The fuselage of the ICG ALH helicopter is also being recovered for investigation.
The ICG chopper deployed for the operation had earlier undertaken several such missions, including saving the lives of 67 people during the recent cyclonic storm in Gujarat.
