An indigenously built advanced light helicopter of the Indian Coast Guard crashed in Gujarat’s Porbandar today while it was airborne practicing for routine training exercise; all the three on-board personnel were killed. The unfortunate event happened at its air enclave of Porbandar Airport, according to India Today.
Two of the victims suffered critical injuries in the crash, and died while being rushed to the hospital. The third person who was said to have fired at the chopper before jumping out of it also died. The Range Inspector General said that yes there were deaths and there is an ongoing probe to find out what could have led to the accident related to the crash.
This is the second crash of a helicopter by the Indian Coast Guard in less than two months. In the earlier case, one other Coast Guard helicopter crashed in the sea and there were questions on the safety of these aviation assets and the maintenance check exercised on them.
The Indian Coast Guard has a primary responsibility of continuing the maritime security and rescue operations with the help of modern light helicopters meant for SAR, Surveillance and Training operations. Today’s crash has created a veil of doubt over the normal training processes and the authorities have felt the need to reopen the case every time such a mishap occurs.
The crash news has pulled the community and other service personnel into mourning as they look for dedicated personnel in serving the nation. Further into the investigation more information concerning the occurrence, prevention measures and remedy is anticipated to come out into the public domain.
(With inputs from Brijesh Doshi)
