Mumbai High chopper rescue took just over 2 hrs: ONGC

The government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said in the Pawan Hans helicopter accident off Mumbai High, the rescue operation was completed in around two hours and 15 minutes and it was the fastest to be carried out in such an offshore accident, given the inclement weather and rough seas.

- Manju V

Mumbai: Four out of nine people died in the accident that occurred on June 28.

Not all agree though. "If rescue was fine and timely, how did the four die? The right offshore support vessel (OSV) for crew change as made mandatory after the August 2003 Mesco M-172 crash that killed 22, that is -was not available. Thus, the prime means of escape was compromised. Over and above that, poor training and lack of exposure vis-a-vis mock drills curbed the confidence of the Sagar Kiran lifeboat which picked up only one person," said K C Hari Kumar, who retired from ONGC as chief general manager (wells) last year. "Survival at sea is the prime aspect of training. That was heavily compromised", he said.

ONGC said: "SOPs for dealing with emergency situations offshore are in place and were followed during the incident. ONGC crew and support vessels did the best that was possible under the circumstances."

The Pawan Hans helicopter had landed onto a rough sea, less than a kilometre from the Sagar Kiran rig, its destination.