Seema Byas
New Delhi. Seven people including a pilot were killed in the crash of a chartered helicopter near the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand while they were on a pilgrimage. The tragedy occurred when the chopper crashed at Garud Chatti, nearly 2 km from the Kedarnath Dham shrine. The chopper caught fire after taking off from Guptkashi and crashed in Garud Chatti, helecopter was set to cover a distance of 33 km. Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami has ordered a probe into this tragic incident.
Located at high altitude, the weather in the Kedarnath pilgrimage area is often unpredictable. According to reports, The helicopter carrying the pilgrims was flying to Phata helipad caught fire minutes after the takeoff and crashed in Garud Chatti immidiate after. The cause of the fire is not known but bad weather is believed to have caused the tragedy. The state disaster response force teams and local police have reached the accident site. Uttarakhand SDRF Commandant Manikant Mishra confirmed the deaths in the chopper crash.
A Bell 407 helicopter registered as VT-RPN belonging to a Delhi based Aryan Aviation crashed on the way from Kedarnath to Guptkashi, Uttarakhand. ''As per the preliminary information received, The chopper was operated by private firm, that provides heli services in the area.'' an official said.
"The helicopter crash in Kedarnath is extremely unfortunate. We are in touch with the state government to ascertain the magnitude of the loss, and are constantly monitoring the situation," Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted.
