Coast Guard helicopter crashes into sea off Gujarat coast; 3 crew members missing

Three crew members went missing after a helicopter of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) crashed into the Arabian Sea off Porbandar coast in Gujarat during a rescue operation, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Monday night, the ICG said in a statement.

While one of the four crew members on board the ICG's advanced light helicopter (ALH) was rescued, a search operation is on for three others, it said.

"On 02 Sep 2024, India Coast Guard 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 the remaining three crew members is in progress. ICG has deployed 04 ships & 02 aircraft for rescue efforts," the ICG statement said.