Indian Coast Guard Helicopter Ditches In Arabian Sea Off Gujarat; 3 Crew Members Missing, Diver Recovered From Wreckage

An Indian Coast Gaurd (ICG) ALH helicopter deployed late Monday night to rescue an injured crew member from a tanker about 45 kms from Porbandar was forced to make an emergency hard landing and ditch into the dark sea with three crew members missing at sea while a diver was recovered from the wreckage.

The indigenously developed HAL twin engine advanced light helicopter Dhruv deployed by the ICG ditched into the pitch dark sea while on mission for medical evacuation of an injured crew member onboard tanker Hari Leela off the Porbandar Coast, Gujarat.

“A rescue operation was launched and a crew member was recovered while three others are missing at sea,” confirmed Coast Guard officials. The ICG has mounted rescue operations with four ships and two aircraft deployed for the rescue efforts.

“Indian Coast Guard ALH, which saved 67 lives during recent cyclonic weather in Gujarat, was launched around 2300 hrs on 02 Sep 24 for medical evacuation of a seriously injured crew on board Indian flagged motor tanker Hari Leela, about 45 km from Porbandar, in response to a request received from the master of the vessel,” the Coast Guard said in a statement

The Indian Armed Forces operate the indigenously deigned 330 twin-engine ALHs developed by state run Hindustan Aeronautic Ltd (HAL).

The Dhruv fleet, plagued by a nagging design issue, was grounded several times last year for poor flight safety records with a comprehensive design review of the helicopter’s booster control rods followed by a drive to replace the flaw-ridden existing ones with new rods in each ALH.