Mumbai,
A Pawan Hans helicopter with seven persons on board, including five ONGC officials and two pilots, crashed off the Mumbai coast minutes after it took off for the state-owned company’s oil installation in the Arabian Sea today.

So far, five bodies have been recovered, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation said. The helicopter with five ONGC officials, including three of the level of Deputy General Manager, crashed 15 minutes after the take-off at 10.20 am. Coast Guard officials said the chopper was 50 km off Mumbai’s coast when the mishap took place.

Capt VC Katoch from Panchkula, an ex-Army Aviation Corps pilot, was one of the two pilots. The helicopter had three hours of fuel and had switched radio contact from the Juhu airfield to air traffic controller on board the ONGC oil rig a few minutes before it was lost.

ONGC, Coast Guard and Navy pressed helicopters and speed boats into service as soon as news of the chopper going missing was received.