ONGC helicopter makes emergency landing near rig in Arabian sea, all onboard rescued

A helicopter of ONGC carrying 9 persons including two pilots Tuesday made an emergency landing near a rig in the Arabian Sea off the Mumbai coast. 

According to a statement issued by the company, all nine persons have been rescued and efforts are underway to rescue others. 

he Indian Coast Guard informed that it has deployed sea and air assets to rescue the 7 passengers and two pilots who were in the helicopter. 

The ICG earlier tweeted that the ONGC Pawan Hans helicopter had crashed, but later deleted the tweet. 

The helicopter, which had six ONGC personnel onboard, and one belonging to a contractor working for the company, was forced to land using the floaters that are attached to such choppers that carry personnel and material from shore to offshore installations, reported news agency PTI.

The circumstances that led to the emergency landing were not immediately clear. Other details too were awaited. 

ONGC has several rigs and installations in the Arabia Sea that are used to produce oil and gas from reservoirs lying below the seabed.