MUMBAI: A delayed rescue operation in inclement weather may have cost four lives after a Pawan Hans helicopter made an emergency landing near an ONGC rig last month, reports Manju V. When the chopper landed off Mumbai High on a rough sea, the occupants managed to unfasten seat belts, open aircraft doors, make their way out and inflate the life jackets. All nine were alive and unhurt, according to sources TOI spoke to in weeks following the accident on June 28.
ONGC and Coast Guard had claimed that vessels and aircraft were rushed to the scene, but response time was not known. "During monsoon, rescue should be completed in 30-45 minutes," said a source. But the four people who died were battling the waves for over two and a half hours, said sources.
