Helicopter crash-lands near Kedarnath, fourth chopper mishap on Char Dham route in 30 days
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A private helicopter crash landed on Saturday in Badsau area of Rudraprayag district soon after it took off from the Sirsi helipad used to take pilgrims to Kedarnath.As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the private chopper was Kestrel Aviation's AW119 helicopter. It experienced a hard landing on the road adjacent to the Bharasu helipad."As per initial inputs, shortly after takeoff from the helipad, the pilot reported a suspected issue with the collective control getting stuck. In response, he executed a controlled force landing on the road near the helipad. All passengers are safe and unharmed. The pilot has been taken to the hospital for evaluation due to complaints of back pain," the DGCA said in a statement.This was the fourth helicopter mishap on the Char Dham route in the span of 30 days.The helicopter had five pilgrims going to Kedarnath from Sirsi helipad. The tail of the helicopter broke while landing. Authorities said that no one was injured in the incident.An official communication from the stat government mentioned, 'The CEO of UCADA has informed that a helicopter made a precautionary landing on the road, instead of the helipad, while taking off with passengers from Sirsi. There are no reports of any casualties. The DGCA has been notified, and the rest of the shuttle operations are proceeding as scheduled.'On May 8, a helicopter crashed near Gangotri, leading to six deaths. An incident was averted when a chopper blade hit a vehicle at the Badrinath helipad on May 12. An air ambulance crashed in the Kedarnath area as its tail hit the ground while landing near the helipad on May 17 and no casualties were reported.
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NDTV
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Chopper To Kedarnath Makes Emergency Landing On Highway, Passengers Safe
Kedarnath: A helicopter, with five passengers onboard, made an emergency landing in the middle of a highway on today. The chopper, which was owned by Kestrel Aviation Private Limited, was en route from Rudraprayag to Kedarnath in Uttarakhand. The chopper took off at 12:52 pm from the Badasu (Sersi) helipad and landed immediately at the main road in Guptkashi, Rudraprayag district. It experienced a technical snag during take-off, with the collective control getting stuck. The pilot, Captain RPS Sodhi, landed the chopper on the highway adjacent to the helipad to avoid any mishaps. In the video, released by news agency ANI on X (formerly known as Twitter), we can see the helicopter parked in the middle of a road with locals rushing towards the site. A car was damaged in the incident. The pilot sustained minor injuries during the emergency landing and was taken to the hospital, district tourism development officer Rahul Chaubey said. All passengers are safe and unharmed, Mr Chaubey added. Speaking to ANI, Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority said that the rest of the shuttle services are proceeding as normal. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) has been informed about the matter, UCADA added. According to the DGCA, Kestrel Aviation's AW119 (Reg. VT-RNK) helicopter made a hard landing on the road. 'A team from DAS(NR) is being sent for onsite assessment,' the agency said. This is the latest in a string of helicopter-related incidents reported on the Chardham Yatra route in the past month. A few weeks earlier, an air ambulance helicopter made an emergency landing in Kedarnath due to a technical snag. The chopper reportedly suffered a malfunction in its tail rotor, leading to difficulties in landing. The ambulance had come to Kedarnath to rescue a pilgrim who was reportedly suffering from respiratory distress. The 'Sanjeevani' helicopter ambulance was operated by the Rishikesh branch of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), as reported by news agency PTI. Two doctors and the pilot inside the craft were safe, district tourism development officer Rahul Chaubey said. On May 8, six people, including a pilot, died after their helicopter crash near Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi. The chopper was flying from Dehradun to Harsil helipad. Five of the people who lost their lives were female tourists- Kala Soni (61), Vijaya Reddy (57), Ruchi Aggarwal (56), Radha Aggarwal (79) and Vedavati Kumari (48).
New Indian Express
9 hours ago
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Helicopter en route to Kedarnath crashlands on highway in Rudraprayag; all six passengers safe
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The Print
10 hours ago
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Helicopter on way to Kedarnath crashlands on highway, all safe
The helicopter had taken off from Badasu base for Kedarnath when it made the emergency landing on the highway near Sirsi following a technical snag during take-off, they said. However, all pilgrims on board and the pilot are safe, the officials said. Rudraprayag, Jun 7 (PTI) A helicopter on its way to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on the highway in Rudraprayag district on Saturday after developing a technical snag during take-off, officials said. Videos on social media showed the Kestrel Aviation helicopter standing in the middle of the highway was dangerously close to populated buildings and with a car damaged by its tail rotor. Six people on board the helicopter including the pilot had a narrow escape. The pilot sustained minor injuries and was rushed to a hospital for treatment. Kedarnath heli service nodal officer Rahul Chaubey said the incident had not affected the heli shuttle service to the Himalayan temple. Efforts are underway to remove the helicopter from the highway. PTI COR ALM ALM KSS KSS This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
