A helicopter crashed and caught fire in Mumbai’s suburbs yesterday, killing its pilot and injuring three passengers, police said.
The privately owned chopper crashed in an open field in Goregaon on the outskirts of Mumbai around noon yesterday, police officer Kiran Kumar Chavan told reporters.
The injured were admitted to hospital, where the condition of two was said to be critical.
Police said they were investigating the cause of the accident.
The police said the helicopter was operated by Mumbai-based tour company Aman Aviation Pvt Ltd, which offers joy rides.
It was likely that the injured were domestic tourists.
Local residents alerted the police after they saw smoke billowing from the crash site.
Witnesses said the firefighters had contained the blaze, but that the helicopter was gutted.
The chopper crashed in an area called Jambli Maidan in Filter Pada near the Royal Palms Club.
The chopper was originally owned by Pawan Hans Ltd, but later sold to Aman Aviation, which is one of the small airline companies offering aerial tours of the Mumbai and surroundings.
Locals say a major tragedy was averted as within a short radius of the crash site, there are sprawling residential housing complexes, the famous Film City, the elite Royal Palms Club, stables with buffaloes, gardens and picnic spots which are frequented by thousands on weekends and holidays.
Onlookers gather near the wreckage of a helicopter in an open field in Goregaon yesterday.
