The body of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited employee R M Murthy was recovered on Thursday 10 days after a chopper carrying him and 28 others plunged into the Arabian Sea.
"It was found in a decomposed state near the Neelam VIII rig, 35 miles off the coast, around 10 am, and flown to the Juhu helibase in Mumbai in the afternoon. The cremation is expected to take place on Friday," an ONGC spokesperson said.
With the recovery of Murthy's body, the toll has now risen to 26. The helicopter co-pilot D K Mittal's body is yet to be traced.
The MI-72 helicopter of Mesco Aviation, carrying mostly ONGC employees, had plunged into the sea on August 11 three minutes after taking off from the Sagar Kiran rig.