2 pilots among 3 killed as helicopter crashes in Pune

Two pilots and an engineer were killed as a helicopter crashed and caught fire in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning, police said.

The helicopter belonging to the Delhi-based Heritage Aviation, a private firm, took off from the Oxford County Golf Course helipad here and was heading to Juhu in Mumbai when it crashed at 7.40 am, they said.

The incident took place near a hilly terrain in Bavdhan area, which is close to the golf course, according to police.

"Three persons have died in the helicopter crash. Our teams along with fire department vehicles have reached the spot," Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinaykumar Choubey said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Gaikwad said the helicopter took off from the helipad of Oxford County Golf Course and crashed near Bavdhan in the hilly terrain, killing two pilots and an engineer on board the chopper.

An official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the incident took place at 7.40 am and confirmed that the Agusta 109 helicopter which crashed belonged to the Heritage Aviation.

After the crash, the chopper caught fire, police said.

Fire tenders and water tankers were rushed to the spot, according to fire officials.

"The deceased have been identified as Girish Kumar, Pritam Singh Bhardwaj and Paramjeet Singh," Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's fire officer Anil Dimle said.

The helicopter took off from the helipad of the Oxford County Golf Course at around 7.30 am, Pimpri Chinchwad's Joint Commissioner of Police Shashikant Mahavarkar said.

Primary information suggested that fog in the area led to the accident.

"A detailed investigation will ascertain the exact cause of the crash," he said.