Mil Mi-8S crash near off Rangali, Alifu Dhaalu Atoll, Alifu Dhaalu Atoll, Maldives

The helicopter left the Rangali resort helipad for Malé International at about 21:30. The pilot turned back after hearing a loud noise shortly after takeoff, then lost power, ditched, rolled over and sank. The left hand engine had lost all its lubricating oil, overheated and failed, rupturing the combustion chamber. By the time the captain recognised the failure the helicopter was on its base leg and had already lost height, leaving it unable to reach the helipad on one engine or to establish an autorotation. Five died: four tourists, two Italian, one Japanese and one Greek, and the Maldivian pilot. The aggregator summary gives four, which counts the tourists only, while the contemporary reporting it cites gives five. Twenty were on board and injuries among the survivors were not reported. Coordinates are approximate to Rangali.