Mumbai, Aug 13: Twenty-two bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of the ill-fated helicopter which crashed into the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast two days ago after it was lifted on to the multi-support vessel early today, taking the toll in the mishap to 25. "The Mi-72 chopper was lifted at around 3:15 am and so far we have recovered and identified 22 bodies," said an ONGC spokesperson.
The rear door of the chopper had to be broken open to take out the bodies trapped inside, she said.
A total of 24 persons were missing after the chopper crashed into the sea three minutes after the take off from the Sagar Kiran rig on August 11. While two ONGC employees survived the crash, three bodies were recovered few hours after the helicopter plunged into the sea even as two more are to be accounted for.
"Postmortem would be carried out on the bodies before they are handed over to the relatives," the spokesperson said. The chopper would be kept on the support vessel for investigation by the Director General of civil aviation, she added. Bureau Report