2 pilots and engineers lose their lives

PUNE: Three people, including two pilots and an engineer, were killed in a helicopter crash followed by fire in an open plot in Bavdhan region in Pune on Wednesday morning.

The helicopter took off from a golf course helipad near the site and crashed in the hilly region around 6:45 a.m. Three people – the two pilots Paramjit Singh and GK Pillai and the engineer Pritam Bharadwaj – were on board.

Preliminary reports indicate that the helicopter was owned by Heritage Aviation and came from Pune with registration number VT EVV, police said.

The helicopter was reportedly hired by the Nationalist Congress Party and was bound for Mumbai. According to NCP chief Sunil Tatkare, he planned to visit Raigad by helicopter.

Photos and videos taken at the scene show a helicopter engulfed in flames with thick smoke billowing out of it.

According to the police, four fire engines of the Pune Municipal Corporation and the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority are on standby at the accident site. Although the cause of the accident is not yet known, police officials said that dense fog was one of the causes of the mishap.