A Pawan Hanshelicoptercarrying seven people, including the crew members, crashed into the sea after it took off from Mayabunder in the North and MiddleAndamandistrict on Tuesday morning. The accident occurred around 9.30 am, according to officials. All the passengers and the crew members, rescued from mid-sea, have been admitted to a hospital, one of the officials said.
"The helicopter took off from Sri Vijaya Puram around 8.45 am, and it crashed into the sea around 9.30 am. A preliminary inquiry revealed that there was some technical snag, and the pilot made a crash-landing on the sea," a senior Civil Aviation official said. An inquiry has been initiated, he said.
In their preliminary remarks, officials of Pawan Hans, a central public sector undertaking based in Noida, said, "Around 9:30 a.m. today, a Pawan Hans helicopter experienced a short landing incident near Mayabunder in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The helicopter had taken off from Port Blair with two crew members and five passengers on board. All have been rescued and are safe. No injuries have been reported."
According to Civil Aviation Director Nitesh Rawat said, all injured persons are under treatment at Dr Rajendra Prasad Hospital in Mayabunder.
"A total of seven people were onboard, including the pilot. All are safe, and we are yet to take the statement of the pilot. We are trying to bring the injured people to Sri Vijaya Puram," he said.
This comes a day after a Ranchi-Delhi chartered air ambulance, also carrying seven people, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ranchi, with all on board feared dead. Early indications suggest adverse weather may have played a critical role in the accident, according to preliminary inputs from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The aircraft departed from Ranchi at 19:11 IST on a medical evacuation flight.
At 19:34 IST, the pilots reportedly requested a deviation from their planned route due to bad weather, according to the DGCA. Shortly after this request, the aircraft lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata ATC, approximately 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi.
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