MUMBAI: Three bodies have been recovered during search and rescue operations for the Pawan Hans Dauphin N2 helicopter which went missing off Mumbai coast on Saturday morning with 7 people on board.
According to defence spokesperson, some objects, which could be parts of the helicopter have been recovered from the site. Whether it is parts of the wreckage is yet be confirmed.
A
Dornier aircraft and a ship were the first to be deployed for search and rescue.
The helicopter (VT PWA), with 2 Pawan Hans pilots and 5 passengers, all
ONGC employees, took off at 10.14 am from
Juhu airport. The helicopter had 3 hour and 10 minutes of fuel onboard. The last contact it established was around 10.30 am, with an air traffic control manned from an oil rig.
"The pilots, as per the procedure, had changed over their radio contact from
Juhu air traffic control to the one manned on the oil rig around 10.25 am," said a source. Thereafter, they were in touch with the rig air traffic controller for upto 9 kms, about 2 mins. "There has been no contact with the helicopter since 10.30 am, by when it was about 50 kms off the coast of Mumbai," the source. The helicopter was expected to land at a platform around 11 am.
Confirmation from the
coast guard and navy is awaited.
File photo used for representation only
