Pune Chopper Crash: NCP's Raigad MP Sunil Tatkare Was Slated To Board Ill-Fated Helicopter

Ajit Pawar NCP faction leader and Raigad Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare had a close shave on Wednesday as he was scheduled to fly on the ill-fated helicopter that crashed in Pune's Bavdhan.

Pune chopper crash: The debris of the helicopter that crashed near Bavdhan Budruk (left); and Sunil Tatkare (right).

Source : Special Arrangement/PTI

The ill-fated helicopter that crashed in Pune's Bavdhan on Wednesday morning was scheduled to fly NCP MP Sunil Tatkare from Mumbai to Pune. The helicopter was on its way to Mumbai to pick up Sunil Tatkare when it crashed in a hilly area in Bavdhan.

However, the chopper crashed before it could reach the destination to pick up the leader of Ajit Pawar's NCP faction. The helicopter met with the accident shortly after taking off from the Oxford Golf Club helipad on Wednesday morning.

The helicopter, owned by Heritage Aviation, was heading towards Juhu in Mumbai. Sunil Tatkare had travelled in this twin-engine Augusta helicopter on Tuesday. Sunil Tatkare had flown to Parli from Pune and back by this helicopter on Tuesday.

After that, Sunil Tatkare left the helicopter in Pune and came to Mumbai. He was again scheduled to go to Sutarwadi in Raigad by the same helicopter. 

Three occupants of the helicopter — two pilots and an engineer — died in the crash that occurred at 6:45 AM near Bavdhan Budruk village. The deceased pilots have been identified as Captain Pillai and Captain Paramjit Singh. The name of the deceased engineer is Pritam Bhardwaj.

"Our teams along with fire department vehicles have reached the spot," confirming the incident, Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinay Kumar Chaubey said.

The police said the chopper's engine caught fire immediately after it crashed, resulting in the entire aircraft exploding. The cause of the accident is not known yet, but an investigation has been launched. Two ambulances and four fire tenders were rushed to the spot of the incident. Various reports suggest that poor weather and low visibility might have caused the chopper to crash while passing through the hilly area.

Sources said the corpses are likely to be taken to Sassoon General Hospital in Pune.