Pawan Hans pilot body found

Body of one of the pilots has been found inside the wreckage of Pawan Hans helicopter that had crashed at Bombay High on Wednesday evening last.

According to investigators, the body was found inside the cockpit of the aircraft. The identity has not been ascertained yet and search for the remains of the second pilot is still underway.

The helicopter went into the Arabian Sea on November 4 with Captain E Samuel and Captain TK Guha were conducting training sortie.

Both the pilots were well experienced and were among the best pilots of Pawan Hans.

The Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation are jointly carrying out search and rescue operations.

Meanwhile, parts of the helicopter wreckage too is being collected to investigate the cause behind the mishap. It is suspected that the helicopter exploded mid-air, however no conclusion has been arrived at. The possibility of mechanical fault hasn't been ruled out.

Indian Coast Guard's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Mumbai had received initial information on Wednesday at about 7.15 pm from Coast Guard Dornier aircraft which was on surveillance sortie of Offshore Development Area (ODA) about ditching of Pawan Hans Dauphin helicopter with two persons onboard at sea near ONGC Platform SLQ located about 80 Miles west of Mumbai.