India's navy says it is searching for a helicopter missing over the Arabian sea that had taken off from a Mumbai airfield with two pilots and five employees of a state-owned oil company on board.

Navy spokesman Capt. D. Sharma says a plane and some ships have been deployed to search for the missing helicopter, which was taking workers from the Oil and Natural Gas Commission to an oil rig.

The Press Trust of India news agency says the pilot lost contact with the air traffic control soon after take-off on Saturday from Mumbai's Juhu airport.

The helicopter belongs to state-run company Pawan Hans, which operates a fleet of helicopters for off-shore operations, charter services and ferrying pilgrims to shrines in mountainous areas.