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CTV News
18 hours ago
- CTV News
Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India's Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing 7
This photo shared by Uttarakhand Police on the X platform shows rescuers working at the site of a helicopter crash near Kedarnath, in Uttarakhand, India, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Uttarakhand Police on X via AP) LUCKNOW, India — A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed early 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 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. The chopper, operated by Aryan Aviation, a private helicopter service company, went down in a forested area near the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5:30 a.m. local time. Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather conditions. Kedarnath is home to one of the four most sacred Hindu temple shrines and receives tens of thousands of pilgrims each year during the summer season, many of whom use helicopter services due to the difficult mountainous terrain. Officials said the dead included the pilot and pilgrims from the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh and western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The bodies were badly burned in a fire that followed the crash, they said. Helicopter mishaps are not uncommon in the treacherous Kedarnath region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks. On June 7, a helicopter operating in the Kedarnath Valley made an emergency landing on a highway due to technical fault shortly after taking off. The pilot was injured but all five passengers on board were unharmed. On May 8, a helicopter crashed in Uttarkashi district, killing six people, including the pilot. One person survived. Biswajeet Banerjee, The Associated Press
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Seven people killed in India helicopter crash
Seven people have died in a helicopter crash in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials have said. According to local media reports, the aircraft was flying from Kedarnath along a popular pilgrimage route in the Himalayan mountains. It is understood that rescue teams were immediately dispatched and an operation to retrieve the bodies has been carried out with local police. The pilot and a two-year-old child were among those killed, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said, adding that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate the crash. India's Ministry of Civil Aviation said the Aryan Aviation Bell 407 helicopter VT-BKA, took off on Sunday just after 05:15 local time. Five passengers, one child and one crew member were on board the flight bound for Guptkashi - another popular town for pilgrims. "At around 5:30 AM, we got the information that a helicopter, which was going from Shri Kedarnath Dham, could not be located," the CEO of Uttarakhand's Civil Aviation Department said. It was then discovered that the helicopter had crashed near Gaurikund. In a post on X, the state's chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, described the incident as "very sad news", adding that the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local administration and other rescue teams were engaged in relief and rescue operations. Dhami confirmed he had ordered an inquiry into the cause of the crash.
RNZ News
20 hours ago
- General
- RNZ News
Helicopter crash in northern India kills 7 on Hindu pilgrimage route
This handout photograph taken on June 15, 2025 and released by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) of India's Uttarakhand state shows smoke billowing from the site of a chopper crash near Gaurikund. Photo: AFP PHOTO / UTTARAKHAND'S STATE DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE (SDRF) / HANDOUT All seven people on a helicopter in northern India were killed when it crashed while ferrying passengers on a popular Hindu pilgrimage route in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, officials said. The helicopter was headed to Guptkashi from the shrine of Kedarnath early on Sunday (local time), the state's director-general of information Bansidhar Tripathi said. The Uttarakhand government ordered helicopter services to Kedarnath Valley suspended until Monday (local time) due to bad weather, Tripathi said. There have been three emergency landings and two helicopter crashes on the same route in the past month and a half, he said. "Very sad news has been received about a helicopter crash in Rudraprayag district," the state's chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami posted on X, adding that the State Disaster Response Force, local administration and other rescue teams were engaged in relief and rescue operations. Dhami said in a statement he has ordered an inquiry into the cause of the crash. The authorities will also examine helicopter pilots and operators, and "only those pilots who have long experience of flying helicopters in high Himalayan regions will be allowed," he said. Helicopter service for the pilgrimage will be resumed only after a meeting with all helicopter operators, Dhami said. The Bell 407 helicopter, operated by Aryan Aviation, took off at 5.19am on Saturday (local time), India's Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. Calls to Aryan Aviation seeking comment went unanswered. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Uttarakhand's Himalayan mountains every year, drawn by the belief that Hindu deities such as Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu reside there. Kedarnath is a part of the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage route of four temple towns, which also include Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. India has reduced the frequency of helicopter operations to Char Dham and is enhancing surveillance and reviewing operations for any further action, the aviation ministry said. - Reuters
Sky News
a day ago
- General
- Sky News
Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India, killing seven people
A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims has crashed in India, killing seven people on board. The accident happened within minutes of the helicopter taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight. The accident happened in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. The helicopter was flying to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
