ICG Helicopter Crash in Arabian Sea: Bodies of 2 Crew Members Found, 1 Still Missing

Porbandar: A day after the crash of an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) in the Arabian Sea, two of the three missing bodies have been recovered. The incident occurred as the helicopter was approaching a vessel to evacuate an injured crew member.

The bodies, identified as Commandant Vipin Babu and P/NVK Karan Singh, were found on Tuesday, according to DIG Pankaj Agarwal of the Porbandar Coast Guard. One crew member had been rescued earlier when the wreckage was first located.

Helicopter Crash During Rescue Mission 

The helicopter, which had recently saved 67 people during cyclonic weather in Gujarat, was forced to make the emergency landing about 45 kilometers from Porbandar. The crash happened during a rescue operation launched around 11 p.m. on Monday in response to a medical evacuation request from the Indian-flagged Motor Tanker Hari Leela.

The helicopter crew had been dispatched to evacuate a seriously injured crew member onboard the vessel. Despite the challenging conditions, the Indian Coast Guard responded promptly to the distress call.

This incident follows another recent operation by the Indian Coast Guard on August 26, where 11 crew members were rescued from the distressed MV ITT Puma during a difficult night-time search and rescue mission.

The Indian Coast Guard continues to monitor the situation and is expected to release further details as the recovery operations progress.