Chopper carrying Char Dham pilgrims crashes near Gangotri, pilot among 6 dead
Dehradun: Six people died and one person sustained critical injuries when a helicopter ferrying passengers to the Gangotri shrine lost altitude and plunged into a gorge near Gangnani village in Uttarkashi in the Garhwal Himalayas around 8.30am on Thursday.
Among the dead were five pilgrims and the pilot. The only survivor, a passenger hailing from Andhra Pradesh, was airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh in critical condition. Among the dead was Vedavathi Kumari, 48, sister of Anantapur TDP MP Ambica G Lakshminarayana. Her husband, Maktur Bhaskar, 51, who was beside her when the helicopter went down, is battling for life at the hospital. Another deceased passenger, Vijaya Reddy, 57, a native of Andhra Pradesh who had been living in Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, and working as a yoga teacher, was travelling with the couple as part of the Char Dham pilgrimage. The remaining deceased have been identified as Dr Kala Soni, 61, and Ruchi Agarwal, 56, both residents of Powai, Mumbai; and Ruchi's mother, Radha Agarwal, 79, originally from Bareilly, who had been staying with her daughter. The aircraft was piloted by Captain Robin Singh, 60, a seasoned flyer from Gujarat. The helicopter, a Bell 407 operated by Ahmedabad-based
Aero Trans Service Pvt Ltd
, began its journey at Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun early on Thursday morning.
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It dropped off a group of pilgrims at Kharsali near Yamunotri. After refuelling and preparing for the next phase, it lifted off again from Kharsali with its second batch of passengers — bound for Harsil, from where pilgrims are taken to the Gangotri shrine. The crash happened at a time when the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a weather alert for May 7 and 8 in Uttarkashi district.
However, what happened between take-off and the crash is still unclear. Initial accounts suggest the aircraft, nearing Harsil, veered off course and lost altitude suddenly. It struck the hillside near the Gangnani Nagraja temple and tumbled down an almost 250-metre gorge. Within minutes of the crash, villagers, many of whom had seen or heard the impact, alerted authorities. Personnel from the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Uttarkashi police soon reached the site for a rescue operation. Two helicopters stood by at Bhatwari helipad, which had been activated immediately for emergency use. Vinod Kumar Suman, secretary of disaster management and rehabilitation, said the state's emergency operations centre used geolocation data to pinpoint the crash site.The aircraft accident investigation bureau, under direction from DGCA, has launched an inquiry into what caused the crash. Whether it was mechanical failure, human error, or a sudden change in weather will be central to the probe. Aero Trans Service Pvt Ltd, which owns the chopper, operates two Bell helicopters and one Cessna aircraft as per its website. The company has not released a statement. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami issued a message of condolence and instructed district officials to extend full support to the victims' families. But beyond official reactions, the crash has raised fresh alarm over the risks of chopper travel in the Himalayas, particularly during the high-pressure Char Dham season, when demand surges and there are virtually back-to-back sorties throughout the day.
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