Latest news with #HinduPilgrims
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India's Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing 7
LUCKNOW, India (AP) — 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.
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
India suffers more heartache as at least seven killed in horror helicopter crash just days after Air India tragedy
India has suffered yet more heartache, after at least seven people were killed in a horrific helicopter crash today just a few days after the country suffered its worst plane crash this century. A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims from the Kedarnath temple town in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, crashed just a few minutes after taking off. The journey should've taken just 10 minutes, but crashed in a dense forest area several times away from the landing site at 5.30am local time. Authorities are now in the middle of a large search and rescue operation. The tragic dead include the pilot, as well as pilgrims from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh and western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Their bodies were reportedly badly burned in a fire that engulfed the aircraft following the fire. Every summer, tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims travel to Kedarnath. Many of them use helicopters to avoid the arduous trek through the difficult mountain terrain. but sadly, accident are all too common, and are often caused by unpredictable weather and high-altitude flying conditions. It comes just days after Air India flight AI171 crashed into a medical college in the city of Ahmedabad minutes after taking off. The crash of the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner is one of the deadliest in terms of the number of British nationals killed, and the first involving a 787. The sole survivor of the Air India disaster has revealed how he 'just walked out' of the plane moments before it exploded into a fireball - as he admitted it is a 'miracle' that he has been left with only minor injuries. British national Viswash Kumar Ramesh, 40, said that he was in India with his brother for the best part of a year and was returning to London, where his family live, on the Gatwick-bound aircraft on Thursday. He was seated in 11A on the doomed flight from Ahmedabad, which is said to be one of the worst in India's aviation history, having claimed the lives of 279 people so far. Among the victims believed to be dead, which includes 53 British nationals, is the 40-year-old's brother Ajay Kumar, 35, who was sat on the other side of the aisle in seat 11J perished in the fireball explosion. Vishwash, who is being treated at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, just a short distance from where the plane crashed into buildings, has spoken of the moment he escaped from the burning plane. While sitting up on a hospital bed, he told DD India that he was 'feeling better than yesterday' and that the 'treatment is going good'. Still in shock, he admitted he 'can't explain' everything that he witnessed as the plane plummeted to the ground. He managed to escape after his side of the plane fell onto the ground of a floor building, forcing his way out of the plane past a broken door, before being assisted by locals and taken to hospital in an ambulance. 'The emergency door was broken, my seat is broken,' he said. The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon in this horrifying clip Asked if he escaped the plane by jumping to the ground, he replied: 'I am not jumping. I just walked out innit.' 'It's a miracle,' he said when discussing his survival and injuries. His doctor added: 'He is having minor injuries only. He has some abrasions over his left forearm and swelling over left eyelid and over the eyes. 'Chest and abdomen is clear, no lung fractures present. The patient is vitally stable.' He added Vishwash had not complained of nausea, vomiting or any sort of fever.
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
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.
The Sun
16 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
At least 7 dead in India helicopter crash as chopper carrying pilgrims goes down days after Air India disaster
SEVEN people including a toddler have died after a helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims from a shrine crashed in the Himalayas. The horror accident in India's northern state of Uttarakhand comes just three days after the deadly Air India disaster in Ahmedabad, which killed at least 279 people. 2 2 The chopper reportedly crashed within just minutes of taking off, during what was supposed to be a 10-minute flight. The pilot and all six passengers were killed after the helicopter went down during a flight from Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand state, according to local authorities. .
Washington Post
17 hours ago
- Washington Post
Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India's Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing 7
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.
