"The helicopter took off from Sri Vijaya Puram around 8.45 am, and it crashed into the sea around 9.30 am. A preliminary inquiry revealed that there was some technical snag, and the pilot made a crash-landing on the sea," a senior civil aviation official said

Phaag is a traditional form of folk songs brought to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands prior to the year 1900 and is closely associated with the festive period from Vasant Panchami to Holi, said Director Tourism, Vinayak Chamadia,