KOCHI: A member of the ground staff of the Indian Navy died after the rotor blade of a Chetak helicopter, which was being shifted for maintenance, hit him on the head, in Kochi on Saturday.
The incident occurred around 2.20 pm when a Chetak helicopter developed an engine complication while being taxied during maintenance and toppled on the runway of INS Garuda, the air base of Southern Naval Command (SNC), at Willingdon Island.
According to SNC sources, Yogendra Singh, 26, a leading air mechanic (LAM), died when the rotor blade hit his head after the engine malfunctioned. Singh, a native of Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, had joined the Navy as a sailor in 2015.
Sources said that the pilot and co-pilot of the helicopter and a member of the ground staff suffered minor injuries in the accident. They were shifted to INHS Sanjivani, the Naval hospital at Kochi Naval Base, and discharged after being administered first aid treatment.
The Navy clarified that the incident was not a crash but a ground accident. “A Chetak helicopter met with a ground accident today during maintenance taxi checks at INS Garuda, Kochi, resulting in the unfortunate loss of life of one ground crew,” an official statement released by the Indian Navy said.
“A Board of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident,” the Navy said in a release. Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar extended condolences to the bereaved family.