4 ONGC staffers die as chopper plunges into Arabian Sea

Jun 29,2022

4 ONGC staffers die as chopper plunges into Arabian Sea

ONGC said that it has instituted an enquiry into the matter. The helicopter carrying nine people on board, including two pilots made an emergency landing around 11.45 am on Monday in Arabian Sea, one nautical mile away from ONGC offshore rig Sagar Kiran

NEW DELHI : Four people lost their lives after an ONGC helicopter made an emergency landing near a rig off the Mumbai coast in Arabian Sea.
In a statement, ONGC said that it has instituted an enquiry into the matter. The helicopter carrying nine people on board, including two pilots made an emergency landing around 11.45 am on Monday in Arabian Sea, one nautical mile away from ONGC offshore rig Sagar Kiran. 

The four people were brought unconscious after they were rescued and were taken to a hospital.

“Four persons rescued by Navy chopper were brought to the base unconsciously and taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, they could not survive," said a statement from the state-run energy major.

Taking to Twitter, the union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri said: “I am personally deeply saddened and mourn the loss of 4 hardworking members of the @ONGC_ family, Sh Mukesh Patel Ji EE(E), Sh Vijay Mandloi Ji, EE(M), Sh Satyambad Patra Ji, Geologist & contract worker Sh Sanju Francis Ji in a tragic helicopter accident at Mumbai offshore today."

The ONGC statement said that the Regional Contingency Plan (west) (RCP) was immediately activated after the accident and Indian Navy and Coast Guard were informed of the incident. 

ONGC vessels near the location were mobilized for search and rescue operation. With prompt action, one person was rescued by life boat launched from ONGC rig ‘Sagar Kiran’ and four persons were rescued by ONGC stand-by vessel Malviya16. 

“Despite inclement weather conditions, the rescue operations were carried out very swiftly. Navy also deputed its vessels and chopper while Coast Guard diverted its vessels and an aircraft,“ it said.

The company said that it is is reaching out to the affected families and is extending all possible support.

Earlier, the Indian Coast Guard had said in a tweet: “In a swiftly coordinated maritime life saving operation in Arabian Sea, prudent coordination amidst stakeholders resulted in accounting of all 9 pax of the ill fated @ONGC_ Pawan Hans. Alert eyes and prompt response at the western seaboard’s concerted efforts resulted in #SAR ops.“

This is not the first fatal incident involving ONGC’s employees which has occurred around its assets in the Arabian Sea.

In 2018, a helicopter carrying seven people, including five officials of the company, had crashed off Mumbai’s coast. All the seven, including two pilots, died in the incident.

Last year, a barge with 261 of its personnel deployed for offshore drilling in Bombay High in the Arabian Sea got de-anchored and started drifting because of the cyclonic storm Tauktae. The barge was later “steadied“, the company had said.