New Delhi A day after four people lost their lives in a helicopter crash near a rig off the Mumbai coast, the ONGC Officers Association has written to the CMD, seeking to stop the use of Pawan Hans helicopters in the company’s operations.
In its letter to ONGC’s CMD Alka Mittal on Wednesday, the employees union has also demanded insurance cover. 5 crore for employees working offshore.
Four people were killed after an ONGC helicopter carrying nine people, including two ONGC pilots, made an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea, a nautical mile from ONGC’s offshore rig Sagar Kiran, at around 11.45 am on Tuesday. Three of the dead were ONGC employees, while the fourth was an employee of a business partner.
“According to one survivor his breathing was not working again and according to the other survivor his life jacket was not working. The time has come for the ONGC management to take a tough stand and stop using Pawan Hans helicopters for ONGC operations.”
The association has also requested to introduce compulsory Safety and Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) for all employees including contractor employees of institutions recognized by Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization (OPITO).
Queries sent to ONGC remained unanswered till press time.
This is not the first time that the employees of the Maharatna company have demanded the closure of Pawan Hans helicopters. In 2018, after seven people aboard a Pawan Hans helicopter crashed, the Petroleum Employees’ Union (PEU) in a letter to the company management demanded the closure of the helicopters, referring to them as “flying coffins”. .
In a separate development on Wednesday, the state-run oil major said in a statement that an ex-gratia payment of 30 lakh each will be given to the families of the four employees who lost their lives in the accident. Both ONGC and Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas will contribute 15 lakh each for each family.
“Apart from the grant, a senior ONGC executive each has been assigned to help the families of the deceased employees. officers will be responsible
To facilitate their logistics, boarding, accommodation, counselling, interaction with police officers, transportation of mortal remains, with families
to their respective home stations and any local support,” the statement said.
To extend all possible help to the survivors, a team of ONGC officials has also been roped in with the survivors. The concerned authorities will facilitate their logistics, boarding and will accompany them to their home town.
The company said on Tuesday that it has started an investigation into the incident.