Helicopters grounded till the findings of the inquiry

Defense forces are understood to have halted the operations of the ALH Dhruv helicopters till the time investigators find the reason for the incident and precautionary checks are carried out, in the wake of a helicopter plunging into the Arabian Sea two days ago.

The ALH choppers are operated by all three defense forces including the Army, Navy and Air Force along with the Indian Coast Guard. The choppers are used in various roles including transportation of men and materials

The operations have been halted till the time investigators find out the reason for the incident off the Mumbai coast and precautionary checks are carried out according to media reports..

During the incident, two days back, an Indian Navy ALH Dhruv on a routine flying mission off Mumbai experienced a sudden loss of power and rapid loss of height.

The pilot carried out controlled ditching over Arabian Sea off the Mumbai coast and all three aircrews exited the helicopter safely and were recovered as part of a swift rescue operation. The ditched helicopter had deployed its emergency flotation gear and efforts are underway to salvage the chopper.