Mangalore:
Thirteen Navy personnel on board the Indian Navy helicopter (IN566), which stopped at Mangalore Airport to refuel, had a providential escape when the fire which erupted near the rotors was swiftly contained by the alert rescue and fire fighting services in Mangalore Airport on Monday.
Mangalore Airport sources said that at 10.45 am the Garuda Indian Navy helicopter (Call sign/registration IN556 type) flying from Cochin to Mumbai landed at Mangalore for refueling.
When the helicopter moved to parking stand 1, smoke was first seen near the rotors and CISF personnel reported the smoke to ATC at 10.56 am. When the smoke which subsequently developed into fire could not be contained with carbon monoxide, the services of Airports Authority of India (AAI) swung into act.
"There was no casualty and all 13 personnel on board were safe," Mangalore Airport director M R Vasudeva informed. The helicopter was declared not air-worthy and grounded at the Mangalore Airport. The 13 personnel were shifted to Mumbai in a doriner aircraft, sources from the airport told Express.