3 Killed As Coast Guard Chopper Crashes In Gujarat’s Porbandar During Training Sortie [Watch]

Porbandar: Three crew members, including two pilots, were killed after an Indian Coast Guard ALH Dhruv crashed at Porbandar airport in Gujarat during a routine training sortie on Sunday.

The ALH Dhruv crashed in an open field and was up in flames at around noon. The three crew members were brought out of the chopper and rushed to a hospital in Porbandar in a severely burnt condition, Porbandar SP Bhagirathsinh Jadeja said was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Reports said that two people, who were critically injured in the crash, succumbed to their injuries on the way to the hospital. The third victim, who had jumped from the helicopter during the incident, also died.

While Kamala Baug police station’s inspector Rajesh Kanmiya confirmed the deaths, identity of the victims is yet to be ascretained. The reason behind the crash is still not known and an inquiry has been launched.

On September 2, three crew members went missing after the ALH MK-III helicopter fell into the Arabian Sea off Porbandar. While the bodies of two crew members were recovered subsequently, a search continued to trace Rakesh Kumar Rana, the pilot in command of the mission, and his body was recovered in October off the Gujarat coast by the Coast Guard.