Team News Riveting
Porbandar, January 5
An Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) crashed in Gujarat’s Porbandar Sunday afternoon, reportedly killing three people.
According to sources, the ALH Dhruv that is operated by the armed forces crashed in an open field. Soon it was up in flames. The chopper was on a routine sortie when it crashed.
The crash took place at the Air Enclave of the ICG. Reports said a few people were also injured in the incident and had been rushed to the civil hospital.
The ICG is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone
The investigation that had been ordered will reveal the cause of the crash. The identity of the victims could not be known but sources said they were crew members of the ALH Dhruv.
The fleet of ALH Dhruv was grounded earlier after a string of flaws were identified. There were certain design and metallurgy issues in some components.
The ICG was the first service to operate the Dhruv; this was followed by the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and the Border Security Force. The model is basically used by the Indian Armed Forces. The choppers that were grounded resumed their operations following the completion of the safety audit.
The Indian Navy, the IAF, the Army and the Coast Guard have a total of over 325 ALH Dhruv helicopters and all of them underwent technical checks following a series of incidents in 2023.
