MUMBAI: Just over 12 hours after an air ambulance crash killed seven people in Jharkhand, another aviation accident was reported on Tuesday, this time involving a helicopter in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In a relief, all seven persons on board escaped without fatalities after the aircraft ditched in the sea near Mayabunder. The incident comes weeks after the January 28 crash of a VSR Ventures aircraft in Baramati that killed Maharashtra’s then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others, raising fresh concerns over aviation safety. According to sources, a Pawan Hans helicopter ditched shortly after take-off from Rangat, about 170 km from Port Blair. The aircraft, a Eurocopter Dauphin (S365) bearing registration VT-PHY and call sign PH2, was operating a scheduled sector in the islands. A Pawan Hans source said the helicopter took off from Rangat at 9.11 am for Mayabunder and was maintaining an altitude of 2,500 feet. It was carrying seven persons on board — two pilots and five passengers. The pilot-in-command was Capt Anil Janu and the co-pilot was Capt T P S Gulia, the source said. The helicopter reportedly ditched about 300 metres from the Mayabunder helipad near Dhobidera. All occupants were rescued safely. On Monday evening, a Ranchi-Delhi air ambulance crashed less than half an hour after take-off, killing all seven on board, including two pilots and five others, as reported earlier. A statement from Pawan Hans is awaited.
