PUNE: Three people, including two pilots and an engineer, died after a helicopter crashed in the Bavdhan area of Pune on Wednesday morning.
The helicopter, an Augusta 109 VT-EVV owned by Delhi-based Heritage Aviation, took off from the Oxford Golf Club helipad around 7am.
The Augusta 109, a twin-engine chopper with a seating capacity of six, was en route to Juhu in Mumbai when it crashed around 5 minutes after takeoff.Sources said that low visibility conditions may have led to the crash in a hilly area of Bavdhan.
Emergency services were quickly dispatched to the site, with four fire brigade vehicles from Pune and PMRDA, along with an ambulance. Pune fire officials have confirmed the likelihood of casualties but are awaiting further confirmation.
The chopper had flown NCP state president Sunil Tatkare to Beed on Tuesday. It came back to the Oxford Golf Club helipad in the city at around 6pm for a night halt.
The crash follows another helicopter accident in August in Pune’s Paud area, where four people were injured.
The DGCA will be holding a detailed investigation into the causes which led to the crash.