Indian Coast Guard vessels respond to deadly helicopter crash in Arabian Sea off Gujarat

The Indian Coast Guard has deployed vessels and aircraft as part of a search and rescue (SAR) operation in response to a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea off Gujarat state in northwestern India earlier this week.

Four SAR vessels have since arrived in an area just off Gujarat where a coast guard Dhruv light helicopter had attempted to evacuate an injured sailor from the Indian-flagged chemical tanker Hari Leela in the late evening (local time) of Monday, September 2.

The coast guard said the helicopter then made a hard landing on the surface of the water and eventually sank. Tragically, the bodies of two deceased occupants along with the aircraft's wreckage were recovered on Tuesday, September 3.

The coast guard added that only one survivor has been found among the four people who were on board the helicopter when it crashed. The SAR effort is now focused on locating the last missing occupant.

The reason for the fatal crash remains unknown. Though the incident occurred just as the Gujarat coastline was experiencing the effects of Tropical Cyclone Asna, coast guard officials did not state whether the bad weather had been a contributing factor.