Indian Coast Guard helicopter makes forced landing in Kerala's Kochi
Kochi (Kerala), March 26: Indian Coast Guard's (ICG) ALH Dhruv Mark 3 helicopter made a forced landing on Sunday in Kochi while the pilots of the force were testing the chopper.
Following the incident, the Cochin International Airport authority announced that airport operations had been temporarily halted.
"The incident happened while the helicopter was taking off for a training sortie. No casualties were reported", the officials informed.
According to airport officials, the ALH was removed from the operational area at about 2 p.m., and the runway has been cleared after a safety examination. Flight operations are scheduled to resume soon.
The event occurred at about 12.20 p.m., according to officials.
Also Read | Rahul Gandhi changes Twitter bio to ‘Dis’Qualified MP’ after Parliament disqualification
"As a Coast Guard ALH helicopter was involved in an accident while taking off from CIAL at 1225 pm today, airport operation had to be suspended temporarily for 2 hrs", the officials added.
According to ICG officials, the chopper was around 25 feet in the air when it had to make a forced landing.
The fleet of ALH Dhruv choppers has been grounded since March 8 due to a mishap involving a Navy chopper off the coast of Mumbai.
Also Read | Mann Ki Baat: Organ donation by one person can give life to 8-9 people, says PM Modi
- ANI
