Pilot Commandant Rakesh Kumar Rana’s remains found at sea 55 km from Porbandar

The mortal remains of Indian Coast Guard Commandant Rakesh Kumar Rana, who was piloting a rescue helicopter that crashed in the Arabian sea on September 2, was found on Thursday at a site approximately 55 km southwest of Porbandar.

This takes the death toll from the crash to three.

The ICG ALH MK-III helicopter crashed on September 2 at around 11.15 pm, with two pilots and two air crew divers, while on a mission to evacuate a seriously injured crew member from oil tanker, Hari Leela.

The ICG launched a massive search and rescue operation, during which one crew member was rescued from sea.

The mortal remains of Commandant Vipin Babu and Pradhan Navik Karan Singh were recovered from sea on September 3.

The operation was launched to rescue the injured second engineer Vinod Kumar, 31, who was aboard the oil tanker, Hari Leela.

After Kumar got injured, the oil tanker launched a distress call and four personnel from the ICG station in Porbandar set out on an advanced light helicopter (AHL).

They were including Commandant Rakesh Kumar Rana, Commandant (junior grade) Vipin Babu, Pradhan Navik Karan Singh and aircrew diver Gautam Kumar.

While Rana was the pilot-in-command for the mission, Babu was the second pilot.

Singh and Gautam Kumar were the aircrew divers responsible for lowering a bucket and pulling the tanker’s injured crew member aboard the helicopter with the help of a winch.

While Gautam Kumar was rescued following the crash, Babu and Singh were found dead inside the fuselage of the crashed helicopter.

The injured oil tanker crew member, Vinod Kumar, was eventually evacuated, with the Coast Guard having diverted a ship to the tanker to rescue him and took him to Porbandar, where he was admitted in a hospital.