MUMBAI, May 30: The Pawan Hans Pilots' Guild has accused the corporation of tardiness in its search for the wreckage of the Dauphin helicopter which crashed off Bombay High late Sunday evening killing the pilot and co-pilot.

While the body of pilot Capt A K Singh was found shortly after the crash, the main wreckage of the copter and the body of co-pilot Ravi Kapoor is still to be located.

Individual pilots also allege that there is a dispute between Pawan Hans and the Oil and Natural Gas Commission as to who would foot the bill for the search and rescue operations.

The pilots now fear that the cockpit voice recorder on board the helicopter may be lost forever if the search is abandoned.

A pilot told Express Newsline on condition of anonymity that the crash site is very muddy and strong monsoon currents could have caused the wreckage to float away a considerable distance.

With the monsoons poised to hit the city in a few days, the search may have to be called off, it is feared.

Should the black box go unfound, the cause of the crash will never be known.

According to a statement issued by the Pawan Hans pilot guild, all helicopters carry equipment like the underwater beacons which are connected to the black box and the body of the aircraft to facilitate search and rescue in the event of an accident.

Though the beacons were installed on all helicopters, the corporation did not ensure availability of compatible equipment to receive the transmissions from the beacons, the guild alleged in its statement.

``It was two days after the crash that this equipment was opened for the first time and taken to the crash site, but could not be used because no one knew how to use it,'' the statement said.

Pawan Hans which has not been able to enlist the services of the navy in carrying out the search and rescue operations has enlisted the services of private divers to carry out searches, but with insufficient information about the location of the wreckage, their efforts are not expected to succeed.

The guild has also accused the company of not providing enough assistance to help the family members of the deceased pilots.

According to pilots, the dead men's colleagues have to spend their spare time in rendering assistance to their families.

Incidentally, Singh was an office bearer of the guild for three years.

The guild also denied allegations by some pilots that Singh was removed from office for siding with the management.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.