After the Indian Coast Guard's Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) crashed in the Arabian Sea during an emergency landing while approaching a vessel to evacuate an injured crew member, two of the three bodies have been retrieved. Identified as Commandant Vipin Babu and P/NVK Karan Singh, the recovered bodies were confirmed by Porbandar Coast Guard DIG Pankaj Agarwal. The helicopter, which had previously rescued 67 individuals during recent cyclonic conditions in Gujarat, was forced to execute the emergency landing approximately 45 km from Porbandar during a rescue mission. The mission was initiated around 11 pm on Monday to medically evacuate a severely injured crew member from the Indian-flagged Motor Tanker Hari Leela, situated about 45 km off Porbandar, following a request from the vessel's master, according to an Indian Coast Guard statement. Earlier, on August 26, the Indian Coast Guard had successfully rescued 11 crew members from the distressed MV ITT Puma during a night-time search and rescue operation. The Mumbai-registered general cargo vessel, on its journey from Kolkata to Port Blair, reportedly sank about 90 nautical miles south of Sagar Island.
Text: Lara Palmer
04.09.2024
Advanced Light Helicopter crashes during emergency landing; two identified among the deceased.