Pawan Hans helicopter crashes into sea near Port Blair; all on board safe

PORT BLAIR: A Pawan Hans helicopter made an emergency ditching into the sea on Tuesday morning shortly after taking off from Port Blair, a town located in the northern part of Middle Andaman Island. The aircraft was carrying seven people at the time of the incident.

All those on board the helicopter, which belongs to the national helicopter carrier, were rescued safely, and no injuries were reported.

According to a spokesperson for Pawan Hans, the incident occurred at around 9.30 a.m. The spokesperson described it as a "short landing incident near Mayabunder in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands", indicating that the aircraft encountered difficulty while attempting to land.

"The helicopter had taken off from Port Blair with two crew members and five passengers on board. All have been rescued and are safe. No injuries have been reported," the spokesperson said.

Officials familiar with the developments said the helicopter went down into the sea approximately 300 metres short of the runway as it was approaching Mayabunder for landing.