Search on to locate missing pilot of coast guard helicopter

Ahmedabad: The pilot of the coast guard helicopter which crash-landed in the Arabian sea on Monday night off Porbandar coast is still missing even as a massive rescue operation was still underway.

"Search efforts have been intensified to locate Commandant Rakesh Kumar Rana, who was the pilot in command of the mission," Indian Coast Guard (ICG) stated in a press note on Wednesday.

In the crash, commandant Vipin Babu and Karan Singh, Pradhan Navik were killed whose bodies were recovered on Tuesday during the search and rescue operation.

On Monday night, ICG's advanced light helicopter (ALH) was dispatched for a rescue mission to evacuate an injured crew member from the Motor Tanker Hari Leela off Porbandar coast.

The helicopter had to make an emergency hard landing during which it ditched into the sea. Soon after the accident, one crew member was rescued.

ICG said that its ships and aircrafts were searching for the missing pilot Rana with the help of the Navy and other stakeholders in the marine domain.