Woman co-pilot of crashed Coast Guard chopper dead
Mumbai: An injured woman co-pilot of an Indian Coast Guard helicopter which had crash landed in Raigad on March 10, has succumbed to her injuries, an official said here on Wednesday.
Hailing from Haryana, Assistant Commandant, Capt. Penny Chaudhary, was on life support system after she sustained severe trauma injuries, and breathed her last on Tuesday evening at the INHS Asvini naval hospital, said Indian Coast Guard spokesperson Commandant Avinandan Mitra.
She suffered head injuries coupled with internal bleeding after a Coast Guard helicopter crashed near Murud in Raigad in Maharashtra, 18 days ago and the rotor hit her head.
At that time, before it developed a technical snag, the ill-fated chopper was on a routine sortie with four people on board, including Deputy Commandant Balwinder Singh, Asst. Commandant Penny Chaudhary and two divers.
Using sheer presence of mind and professionalism, she manoeuvred the chopper away from a populated area of Murud town, to make a safe landing in a rocky portion of the beach.
Not only did she save the lives of the other crew members on board, but also averted what could have been potential disaster if the chopper had crashed on the populated regions of Murud, famed for its beaches, seafood, forts and resorts.
Though she managed to escape from the crashed chopper, she was hit on her helmet by the slow-moving rotor blade soon after it landed on the rocky Nadagram beach.
A native of Karnal in Haryana, Chaudhary had joined the ICG in December 2013 and recorded 555 hours of flying to her credit.
"She was a brilliant, soft-spoken officer, who was popular among her colleagues for her professionalism and social conduct. The young officer will be deeply remembered for by the ICG fraternity for her commendable devotion to duty and selfless service towards the nation," said Mitra in a tribute.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
