3 killed as Mumbai-bound helicopter crashes in Pune

Two pilots and an engineer were killed after a helicopter belonging to a private aviation company crashed and caught fire in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning, police said.

Lok Sabha member and Nationalist Congress Party state president Sunil Tatkare told PTI he was supposed to travel from Mumbai to Raigad on Wednesday in the same helicopter, which was hired by his party.

The helicopter belonging to the Delhi-based Heritage Aviation took off from the Oxford County Golf Course helipad here and was heading to Juhu in Mumbai when it crashed at 7.40 am, police said.

The incident took place near a hilly terrain in Bavdhan area, which is close to the gold course, according to police

"Three persons have died in the helicopter crash. Our teams along with fire department vehicles have reached the spot," Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinaykumar Choubey said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Gaikwad said the helicopter, belonging to Heritage Aviation, took off from the helipad of Oxford County Golf Course and crashed near Bavdhan in the hilly terrain, killing two pilots and an engineer onboard the chopper.

An official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also said the incident took place at 7.40 am and confirmed that the Agusta 109 helicopter which crashed belonged to the Heritage Aviation.

After the crash, the chopper caught fire, police said.

Fire tenders and water tankers were rushed to the spot, according to fire officials.

"The deceased have been identified as Girish Kumar, Pritam Singh Bhardwaj and Paramjeet Singh," Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's fire officer Anil Dimle said.

The helicopter took off from the helipad of the Oxford County Gold Course at around 7.30 am, Pimpri Chinchwad's Joint Commissioner of Police Shashikant Mahavarkar said.

Primary information suggested fog in the area led to the accident.

"A detailed investigation will ascertain the exact cause of the crash," he said.

Speaking to PTI over phone, NCP's Raigad MP Tatkare said the incident was unfortunate.

"I am deeply saddened by the incident. The helicopter was hired by the party, and on Tuesday, I flew in it to Parli in Beed district. Today, I was supposed to fly from Mumbai to Raigad in the same helicopter," he said.