At least 7 dead as helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India

Lack of visibility due to fog deemed to be reason behind chopper crash in Uttarakhand

A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims from a popular temple in the Himalayas crashed on Tuesday, killing all seven people onboard, including the pilot.

Lack of visibility due to fog was deemed to be the reason for the chopper crash that occurred on Tuesday in Rudraprayag district, located in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

Local disaster management official Nandan Singh told local media that seven people, including the pilot, were killed after the chopper burst into flames close to the Garud Chatti and Jungle Chatti areas in Rudraprayag.

The pilgrims were returning from the popular temple of Kedarnath which is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.

India’s civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said his ministry was constantly monitoring the situation on the ground and trying to determine the magnitude of the loss.

“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,” he tweeted.

An unidentified senior civil aviation officer was quoted as saying to news agency Press Trust of India that the helicopter involved in the crash was operated by private company Aryan Aviation.

“According to the preliminary information, a Bell 407 helicopter VT-RPN crashed on the way from Kedarnath to Guptkashi, possibly due to bad weather,” the official said.

News agency ANI reported that despite snowfall and bad weather near the site of the helicopter crash, the operation by the National Disaster Response Force, state disaster response force and police officials is underway.

The Kedarnath temple is situated at 4,300ft above sea level and is open to pilgrims only from April to November.

India’s top political leaders expressed their grief over the accident.

“In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families,” said prime minister Narandra Modi’s condolence message on Twitter.

India’s president Droupadi Murmu said the news of the deaths was “extremely sad”.

India’s federal home minister Amit Shah and Uttarkhand’s chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed their condolences to the bereaved families as well.

“The incident of the crash of the helicopter carrying the pilgrims in Kedarnath is extremely disheartening. I express my condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in this accident. May God give them the strength to bear this grief,” said Mr Shah.