Navy plane crashes in sea near Goa; one rescued, two missing

Panaji, March 25
A Dornier surveillance aircraft of the Indian Navy with three personnel on board crashed into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Goa on Tuesday night. One navy officer has been rescued, but the other two - including a woman officer whose husband is also in the navy - are still missing, officials said on Wednesday.

The aircraft was from the 301 Naval Air Squadron based at INS Hansa near Dabolim in Goa.

It was on a training sortie and communication was lost at 10.02 p.m. on Tuesday, after which the aircraft "ditched" in the sea, an officer said.

The aircrew onboard the aircraft comprised three officers -- two pilots and one woman observer, the navy said in a statement.

One survivor, Commander Nikhil Kuldip Joshi, was picked up by a passing fishing boat from a fishing hamlet off Karwar and transferred to a naval Fast Interceptor Craft.

"He is presently in the Naval Hospital at Karwar and is reported to be stable," the navy said.

A board of inquiry has been ordered to probe the crash.

Navy chief Admiral Robin Dhowan rushed to Goa from New Delhi on Wednesday morning and met the families of the aircrew, officials said.

Dhowan also met Commander Joshi, who was fished out of the sea after the crash.

The navy chief took stock of the search and rescue operation, before returning to Delhi in the evening.

A total of 12 ships, including two ships from the Indian Coast Guard, and four aircraft have been deployed for search operations.

The ships include INS Satpura, INS Betwa, INS Subhadra, INS Koruva, INS Kondul, INS Makar, INS Matanga and ICGS Amal.

"The last known position was 20 nautical miles south-southwest off Goa," an official said.