Three Indian Coast Guard personnel are feared dead after their helicopter crashed during an attempt to airlift a seafarer from a tanker.
A pilot and crew member have been confirmed dead, while another pilot is missing after the accident involving the 46,000-dwt MR vessel Hari Leela (built 2000) off the coast of Porbandar on Monday night, the New Indian Express reported.
The helicopter had taken off late on Monday evening after the tanker issued a distress call regarding an ill crew member.
The aircraft crashed into the sea. One other crew member was rescued.
Two bodies were found inside the wreckage, the report said.
A search and rescue operation was launched for the missing pilot.
The Coast Guard said on X: “The helicopter had taken off for medical evacuation of a crew member who had suffered head injuries on board a tanker.”
“However, something happened while the helicopter was approaching the tanker. The helicopter made a hard landing and then ditched into the sea,” it added.
The vessel was 34 nautical miles (63 km) from the shore.
Sources told the New Indian Express that the pilot had been in contact with land stations and the tanker master as the helicopter approached.
He reportedly told the ship’s captain that the aircraft would make one more circle of the vessel and then lower evacuation equipment.
The Coast Guard has sent four ships and two aircraft to the scene.
The tanker is operated by Ind-Aust Maritime of India.
