Three Indian Coast Guard (ICG) crew members are missing after a helicopter, which was deployed to rescue an injured crew member from a tanker in the Arabian Sea off the Porbandar coast in Gujarat, had to make an emergency landing on Monday.
The ICG said an advanced light helicopter was deployed at 11 pm to evacuate a “seriously injured crew” onboard the Motor Tanker Hari Leela, about 45 kilometers from Porbandar into the sea.
The helicopter with four crew members was forced to make an “emergency hard landing” and was ditched into the sea during the operation, the ICG said.
“One crew has been recovered and a search for the remaining three is in progress. Aircraft wreckage has been located,” the Coast Guard said.
On 02 Sep 2024, @IndiaCoastGuard ALH helicopter was launched at 2300 hrs to evacuate an injured crew member from the Motor Tanker Hari Leela off #Porbandar, #Gujarat. The helicopter had to make an emergency hard landing and ditched into sea. One crew member recovered, search for…
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) September 3, 2024
Four ships and two aircraft have been deployed for rescue efforts, it said.
The incident comes days after the Coast Guard was involved in rescue and relief operations in rain-ravaged parts of Gujarat.
Apart from the ICG, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and its state counterpart SDRF, the Indian Army, and the Indian Air Force relocated more than 17,000 people from flood-affected areas.
