New Delhi: At least four persons including 3 ONGC employees were killed after a helicopter of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) made an emergency landing off the Mumbai coast on Tuesday. The Pawan Hans chopper with two pilots and seven passengers fell into the Arabian Sea while attempting to land at the ONGC Sagar Kiran rig at Mumbai High.

After a successful rescue operation, all nine people were pulled out but four persons, who were unconscious and were airlifted in a Navy chopper, were declared brought dead at the Nanavati Hospital. Three of the deceased were ONGC employees while the fourth one was on contract hired by the oil company. The deceased were identified as Mukesh Patel, Vijay Mandloi, Satyambad Patra and Sanju Francis.

“A Pawan Hans helicopter with seven ONGC passengers and two crew members crashed near Sagar Kiran oil rig. In the rescue operations, three ONGC employees and both crew members were saved. Three employees and one temporary ONGC worker succumbed. Their bodies have been taken to Cooper Hospital,” said Juhu airport director A K Verma.

At least four persons perished after a #PawanHans helicopter ditched into the Arabian Sea near the ONGC's Sagar Kiran oil-rig, off #Mumbai High Fields, around 175 kms off the country's commercial capital, official sources said. https://t.co/9hJHaIJjHc pic.twitter.com/EkoQYZ8dUc
— IANS (@ians_india) June 28, 2022

According to an ONGC official, the chopper was attempting to land at the rig, located some 111 km west of the Mumbai coast and fell into the sea. The helicopter managed to stay afloat with the help of the attached floaters for some time, the official said. The helicopter was a newly leased Sikorsky S-76D with the call sign VT- PWI and was operated by Pawan Hans.

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