A helicopter crashed into the Andaman sea following a technical snag on Tuesday — with all seven people on board rescued and taken to the hospital. The incident took place around 9:30 am as the Pawan Hans chopper attempted to land in the Mayabunder area.
“The helicopter took off from Port Blair at around 8:30 am for Rangat. At 9:10 am, it took off for Mayabunder and was to land at 9.30 am. It, however, ditched into the sea 300 m short of the runway. There were five passengers on board and two crew members. All have been rescued and are safe,” a Pawan Hans spokesperson told PTI.
A relief helicopter was sent from Port Blair and an inquiry initiated into the matter.
What led to the accident?
Officials said the pilot was forced to make a crash landing soon after taking off as the chopper suffered a technical issue. A rescue team had quickly jumped into action, and the police and Coast Guard worked in tandem with locals to save the passengers. All five five passengers and two crew members were admitted to a hospital.
“The helicopter crashed into the sea around 9.30 am. A preliminary inquiry revealed that there was some technical snag, and the pilot made a crash-landing on the sea,” a senior Civil Aviation official told PTI.
Who were the passengers?
“A total of seven people were onboard, including the pilot. All are safe, and we are yet to take the statement of the pilot. All injured persons are undergoing treatment at Dr Rajendra Prasad Hospital in Mayabunder. We are trying to bring the injured people to Sri Vijaya Puram,” confirmed Civil Aviation Director Nitesh Rawat.
“Those who were travelling in the helicopter were Rajita Devi, Kamala Chandra Das, Shipra Saha, Nambi Amma, one infant and two pilots, Captain Anil Janu and Captain TPS Gulia. All are safe,” added North & Middle Andaman Deputy Commissioner Sushant Padha.