In an incident off the coast of Gujarat, three crew members of an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) have gone missing after their aircraft crashed into the Arabian Sea during a rescue mission. The crash occurred on the night of September 2, 2024, near Porbandar.
The helicopter was deployed at 11:00 PM to evacuate an injured crew member from the Motor Tanker Hari Leela, which was stranded off the Gujarat coast. According to the ICG, the helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing and subsequently ditched into the sea.
While one of the four crew members onboard was rescued, the remaining three are still unaccounted for. The ICG has launched an extensive search and rescue operation, deploying four ships and two aircraft to locate the missing crew members and assist in recovery efforts.
The incident highlights the inherent risks associated with high-stakes rescue operations and underscores the dedication of the ICG personnel involved in the mission. The search operation is ongoing, with teams working around the clock to locate and recover the missing crew members.