A helicopter carrying three people, including two pilots and an engineer, crashed near Bavdhan in Pune district on Wednesday morning. Fire officials confirmed that all three on board were killed in the crash. Police and fire officials stated that the chopper was operated by Heritage Aviation.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Pune Chief Fire Officer Devendra Prabhakar Potphode said, “We received information about a helicopter crash near the Oxford Helipad. Our fire teams from the nearest stations responded immediately. We also summoned the PMRDA fire department and MIDC, and sent four fire vehicles along with two rescue vehicles.”
“Upon arrival at the scene, we found the helicopter had crashed and its parts were scattered. There was a smouldering fire. We recovered three casualties and handed them over to the police. Initially, we received information that the helicopter belonged to Heritage Aviation. Further details are yet to be confirmed,” the fire official added.
The helicopter had taken off this morning from Juhu in Mumbai with two pilots and an engineer on board.
Vishal Gaikwad, DCP Pimpri-Chinchwad, said, “Today, a private helicopter from Heritage Aviation took off from Oxford Helipad, Bavdhan. We received information about its crash shortly after it took off at 7:30 am. Two pilots and one engineer on board died in the crash. The chopper was scheduled to go to Juhu. The DGCA will investigate the incident. Police have cordoned off the area.”
The crash occurred around 6:45 am in hilly terrain in the Bavdhan area. Two ambulances and four fire tenders arrived at the site shortly after the incident to conduct rescue operations. The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Further details are awaited.