A helicopter carrying seven including pilgrims, and a pilot crashed in a blanket of fog near Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on Tuesday.
“Seven people on board the helicopter have died”, Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority CEO C Ravi Shankar told the media at a press conference. The incident took place around 11.40 am, Shankar said. “The chopper took off from Kedarnath and was heading towards Guptkashi. The cause of the accident will be known after a proper investigation,” he added.
According to an official spokesperson, the helicopter crashed in Rudraprayag in the Kedarnath-Garudchatti district. Rescuers immediately got into the act. The crash took place between Lincholi and Garudchatti on the Kedarnath Yatra route.
The helicopter belonged to the Aryan Company in which seven people were on board. The crash reportedly took place after the helicopter collided with a hill due to poor visibility in the fog. The details of the occupants were shared by Uttarakhand government spokesperson Lalita Das Negi. They were Prba Ramanuj, Kriti Brar, Urvi, Sujata, Prem Kumar, Kala, and pilot Captain Anil Singh.
Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted: “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.”
The chopper, operated by Delhi-based Aryan Aviation, was a Bell-407, registered as VT-RPN. The company is among the many players operating heli-services to Kedarnath from various places. As per the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the chopper went down in a dense fog.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), which rushed to the site of the Kedarnath chopper crash along with teams from NDRF on Thursday, said all seven people on board had died on the spot. “All seven died at the crash site. Their bodies were brought to the Kedarnath helipad,” said an SDRF official.
A senior police officer monitoring the development told TOI that the pilot Anil Singh had “contacted the air-traffic controller (ATC) seeking permission to return citing heavy fog in the route”. He said, “After taking off from Kedarnath, the pilot had contacted the ATC sending a message that he was encountering heavy fog causing low visibility due to which he was returning.
After obtaining permission, he was turning back amid dense fog when the chopper plunged into the hill.” C Ravishankar, CEO of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA), told TOI, “A team of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reached Dehradun and will start a technical investigation from Wednesday to ascertain the cause of the accident.”
There are nine operators, including government-run Pawan Hans, impaneled by UCADA to operate heli-services on the Kedarnath route. The fare for a two-way trip ranges between Rs 4,000 and Rs 7,000, depending on the distance.
The two-way fare between Kedarnath and Guptkashi is Rs 7,000. Each chopper operating on the Kedarnath route ferries six passengers.
The state official confirmed all dead. The Prime Minister’s Office tweeted, “Anguished by the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families.” President Droupadi Murmu and civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia condoled the loss of lives.
“News of the death of many pilgrims, and the pilot, in the helicopter crash near Kedarnath dham is very sad. My deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones,” Murmu tweeted in Hindi. “Anguished by the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families,” Modi was quoted as saying in a tweet by his office.
Jyotiraditya Scindia wrote, “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the tragic crash. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. May god give them the strength to bear this loss.”
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, too, expressed grief and ordered a detailed inquiry into the crash.
The Gujarat government on Tuesday announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the three dead women from the state.