Massive rescue operations are underway after a Pawan Hans helicopter with two pilots on board crashed into Arabian Sea minutes after take off from an ONGC platform yesterday evening. Navy and Coast Guard have launched a search and rescue operation to locate the missing pilots and wreckage. A door of the chopper was sighted by a merchant ship Samudra Sewak. <br/><br/>Also debris were recovered of crashed Pawan Hans Helicopter off Mumbai. According to Cdr Rahul Sinha, CPRO Defence, no survivor or body has been sighted so far. The 14-seater VTPWF Dauphin aircraft of 2001-make with two pilots onboard took off from the ONGC installation at 7:12 PM and contact with it was lost eight minutes later. The two pilots were identified as Captain E Samuel and TK Guha. <br/>Defence sources said that two Immediate Support Vessels of the Navy reached the area yesterday, about 80 nautical miles off south Mumbai coast. ONGC vessels have also been pressed into service. Cdr Sinha, stated that a night capable helicopter Sea King 42C too was launched to augment the search operation. <br/><br/><br/>According to the updates that came in this morning, Sea King, however couldn't yield any result and landed back at 2 this morning. Both the INS vessels continue the search operation. One CG ship and Dornier aircraft has joined the search. Earlier today, the rescue operation encountered problem as the Visibility in the area was poor due to morning haze.<br/><br/>The Medivac chopper was on its last sortie of the day from a platform on the Mumbai High south oil and gas field about 160 KM off the coast. The reason of the crash is yet to be known, said ONGC Director Offshore T K Sengupta. No oil and gas installation was damaged in the accident.

Defence Ministry today said the debris of the missing Pawan Hans helicopter has been recovered. Yesterday in the evening a Pawan Hans helicopter with two pilots onboard crashed into the Arabian sea shortly after taking off from an ONGC installation in the Mumbai high field. <br/><br/>AIR correspondent quoting defence sources reports, Indian Coast Guard coordinating the search for missing Pawan Hans helicopter.