Helicopter crash kills 7 Hindu pilgrims in India's Uttarakhand
A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed early on Sunday in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing seven people on board, officials said.
The chopper was flying to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town, when it crashed. The accident occurred within minutes after the helicopter took off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight.
The crash comes three days after
an Air India flight fell from the sky and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived.
Nandan Singh Rajwar, a local disaster management official, said authorities have launched a rescue and search operation following the helicopter crash and are expected to review operational protocols for flights in the region.
Smoke billows at the site of a chopper crash in the Gaurikund area of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
The chopper, operated by Aryan Aviation, a private helicopter service company, went down in a forested area near the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5.30am local time. Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather.
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Helicopter crash kills 7 Hindu pilgrims in India's Uttarakhand
A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed early on Sunday in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing seven people on board, officials said. The chopper was flying to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town, when it crashed. The accident occurred within minutes after the helicopter took off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight. The crash comes three days after an Air India flight fell from the sky and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Nandan Singh Rajwar, a local disaster management official, said authorities have launched a rescue and search operation following the helicopter crash and are expected to review operational protocols for flights in the region. Smoke billows at the site of a chopper crash in the Gaurikund area of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters The chopper, operated by Aryan Aviation, a private helicopter service company, went down in a forested area near the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5.30am local time. Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather.
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