For Navy, it has come as a major setback when two of its personnel lost their lives on Wednesday when the heavy door of a helicopter hangar fell on them at the Southern Naval Command’s base in Kochi, They were identified as Naveen (28) and Ajeet Singh ( 29). They were in the rank of chief petty officer from the naval aviation electrical branch. A Board of Inquiry has been ordered to look into the cause of the accident.
According to the press release, the sliding hangar door of Naval Air Squadron 322, comprising ALH Dhruv helicopters dislodged from its supporting rails and fell on the sailors, who were passing by. Both were rushed in a critically injured state to naval hospital INHS Sanjivani, where despite best efforts of doctors to resuscitate them, they succumbed to injuries at about 9.40 a.m.
Naveen belonged to Haryana’s Bhiwani district. He had joined the Navy on January 25, 2008, while Ajeet Singh was from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district. He had joined Navy in July 29, 2009. Naveen is survived by wife Aarti and a two-year-old daughter, while Ajeet Singh is survived by wife Parvati and a five-year-old son. According to sources, Chetak search and rescue helicopters inside the hangar had not suffered any damage.
