3 Crew Members Killed in Coast Guard ALH Crash in Porbandar

Two Indian Coast Guard pilots and an aircrew diver were killed on Sunday in a Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) crash at Porbandar in Gujarat, the latest in a series of accidents involving the locally produced chopper, which put the spotlight back on its troubling safety record.

- Maulik Pathak and Rahul Singh

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: Two Indian Coast Guard pilots and an aircrew diver were killed on Sunday in a Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) crash at Porbandar in Gujarat, the latest in a series of accidents involving the locally produced chopper, which put the spotlight back on its troubling safety record.

"An ALH Mk-III of the ICG met with an accident at Porbandar airport runway in Gujarat at 1215 hrs on January 05, 2025. The ICG helicopter, with two pilots and one aircrew diver, was on a routine training sortie. The crew were shifted to Government Hospital, Porbandar, where they were declared brought dead," the defence ministry said in a statement.

The coast guard identified the crew as Commandant Saurabh, Deputy Commandant SK Yadav and Pradhan Navik Manoj. It has ordered a board of inquiry to find out what led to the accident.