In an attempt to land on a corporate rig in the Arabian Sea, an ONGC helicopter carrying nine people, two pilots included, sank off the coast of Mumbai. The Coast Guard and Indian Navy both contributed to the rescue operation.
“Four persons rescued by Navy chopper were brought to the base unconsciously and taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, they could not survive. ONGC deeply mourns this tragic loss of lives,” the company said.
Six of the nine people, he claimed, had so far been saved. The Navy dispatched the Seaking and ALH helicopters together with the Indian Naval Ship Teg in order to save the passengers and crew of the ONGC chopper, which was 60 nautical miles from Mumbai.
Another ship sailed out from Mumbai with a dispatch to help the rescue efforts, and the Coast Guard also diverted a ship to get to the area. The Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (Mumbai) also activated the global safety net, the defence official added, and the Coast Guard aircraft dropped life rafts for survivors.
The incident happened while the ONGC helicopter was attempting to land at the rig, which was around 50 nautical miles off the coast of Mumbai. The helicopter plummeted into the sea about 1.5 kilometres from the landing area on the rig, according to a company representative.
It was unclear what exactly happened to cause the catastrophe. He added that there were still more information to come. In order to extract oil and gas from reservoirs beneath the seabed, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) maintains various rigs and sites in the Arabian Sea.
