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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
7 killed after helicopter crashes in Uttarakhand
A helicopter carrying pilgrims from Kedarnath crashed on Sunday morning, killing all seven people aboard, including a two-year-old girl, authorities said, as preliminary analysis showed the aircraft went down in treacherous weather in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. Sunday's tragedy was the fifth helicopter incident on the route in six weeks: three emergency landings and another crash have killed six people during this period. It also comes days after the country's worst air disaster in three decades that took place on Thursday when Air India flight 171 crashed shortly after take-off, leaving all but one of 242 passengers dead and claiming the lives of dozens more on the ground. 'The valley was covered in dense fog with overcast conditions [at the time of the crash],' said state disaster response force commandant Arpan Yadhuvanshi. Rescue teams trekked five kilometres through difficult terrain to reach the wreckage in a forest near Gaurikund, the base camp for treks to Kedarnath temple. The spot lies roughly 5-7 km from the take-off point, and the general area is close to 9,000 feet above sea level. 'The helicopter departed from Kedarnath at 5:21 am for Guptkashi. It was last seen near Valley Point at 5:24 am. At 6:13 am, the helicopter company reported that the chopper had not reached Guptkashi. We then launched a search and rescue operation,' said Rudraprayag district disaster management officer Nandan Singh Rajwar. The victims included pilot Rajveer Singh Chauhan, 35, a former army officer from Jaipur; a family of three from Maharashtra — Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal, 41, his wife Shradha, 35, and their daughter Kashi, 2; two passengers from Uttar Pradesh, Vinod Devi, 66, and her granddaughter Tusti Singh, 19; and temple committee member Vikram Singh Rawat, 46. The crash highlights growing safety concerns over helicopter operations serving the Char Dham pilgrimage route, which includes four sacred Hindu temples in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. The routes see tens of thousands of pilgrims annually, many using helicopters to navigate the treacherous mountain terrain. The civil aviation ministry said preliminary findings suggest 'controlled flight into terrain,' with the helicopter airborne despite poor visibility. Operations for Aryan Aviation have been suspended immediately. The ministry said the exact cause of the crash will be determined after an investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). 'When the chopper was returning, it encountered sudden adverse weather conditions in the valley. The pilot attempted to navigate the helicopter out of the valley, however, the aircraft crashed during the effort,' said Rudraprayag district tourism officer Rahul Chaubey, the nodal officer for chopper service in Rudraprayag. Helicopter accidents are not uncommon in the region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks. But experts said hard questions must be asked. 'We can't keep blaming the weather,' said Captain Sandeep Soti, former chief of flight safety for Uttarakhand state. 'Commercial pressures are involved, and shortcuts are sometimes taken. Operators often try to meet their sortie targets.' Last year, no loss of lives were reported as helicopters made 22,804 sorties on the Kedarnath route during the six months of the Char Dham Yatra. Only one emergency landing was reported. Officials said this year 8,786 sorties have been carried out on the route and said the number was comparatively low because of adverse weather conditions. Last week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) intensified safety oversight of helicopter operations in Uttarakhand last week, introducing live monitoring and surprise audits. In its statement on Sunday, the civil aviation ministry said operations of Aryan Aviation for the Char Dham Yatra have been suspended with immediate effect. It added that two helicopters belonging to TransBharat Aviation were found to also be airborne under similar 'unsuitable weather conditions'. 'Accordingly, the licences of both pilots have been suspended for six months. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has reiterated aviation safety is non-negotiable and that no operator should undertake flights in violation of weather-related and other protocols,' it said. Late in the evening, an FIR was registered against Aryan Aviation's accountable manager Kaushik Pathak and manager Vikas Tomar under BNS Section 105 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and relevant sections of the Vayuyan Act on the complaint of revenue sub inspector Rajiv Nakholia. In his complaint, Nakholia said that the firm operated the chopper despite adverse weather conditions and violated the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). HT reached out to Aryan Aviation and TransBharat Aviation for a response but did not get one immediately. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered helicopter services suspended through Monday and called for a high-level inquiry. He said strict operating procedures prioritising public safety must be implemented, including mandatory technical checks. 'The safety of passengers is the state government's top priority,' Dhami said. The families of the victims were shrouded in grief and shock as they struggled to come to terms with the tragedy. 'He had become a father after fourteen years of marriage. We planning a ceremony for his four-month-old twins. But, everything is over now,' Chauhan's father Govind Chauhan said.
Gulf Today
2 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Toddler among 7 killed in India chopper crash
Seven people including a toddler were killed Sunday in India when a helicopter ferrying Hindu pilgrims from a shrine crashed in the Himalayas, officials said. The fatal accident comes as relatives mourn at least 279 people killed when a passenger plane slammed into a residential area in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday. The helicopter crash left the pilot and all six passengers dead when their chopper came down during the flight from Kedarnath temple, in Uttarakhand state, disaster response official Nandan Singh Rajwar told the media. The state's chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said rescue teams had been dispatched to the scene after the "very sad news". The crash was likely caused by bad weather, according to district tourism official Rahul Chaubey. Pilgrims flock to Kedarnath temple during the summer when it is possible to access the site, which stands at an altitude of 3,584 metres (11,759 feet). A cottage industry of helicopter charter firms has developed to serve wealthy pilgrims who want to visit shrines in the Indian Himalayas, but who prefer to avoid arduous trekking. Six people were killed last month in another helicopter crash en route to the shrine. Agence France-Presse
Qatar Tribune
7 hours ago
- Climate
- Qatar Tribune
Helicopter crashes in northern India, killing all on board
NEW DELHI: Seven people were killed Sunday morning in a helicopter crash in the mountainous northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Officer of Rudraprayag's Disaster Management, Nandan Singh Rajwar, told Press Trust of India that the helicopter, which was flying between Kedarnath and Guptkashi, lost contact around 5:20am and crashed shortly after takeoff in Gauri Kund amid adverse weather conditions and low visibility. There were six people on board, in addition to the pilot, all from different Indian states. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said in a post on the X platform that emergency response teams, in cooperation with local authorities, are conducting extensive search and rescue operations at the crash site. The incident comes days after another air disaster in India, when an Air India plane crashed while en route from Ahmedabad to London, killing all but one person on board.
San Francisco Chronicle
10 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India's Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing 7
LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed on Sunday in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing seven people on board, officials said. The helicopter was headed to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town when it crashed minutes after taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight. Nandan Singh Rajwar, a local disaster management official, said authorities have launched a rescue and search operation following the helicopter crash. The helicopter, 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. 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. India's Civil Aviation Ministry suspended the operations of Aryan Aviation and directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to oversee all helicopter activity in the region, according to Press Trust of India. The ministry also ordered an investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, the news agency said. The crash comes three days after an Air India passenger plane crashed with the loss of 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. 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. Helicopter mishaps are not uncommon in the treacherous Kedarnath region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks. According to Press Trust, Sunday's was the fifth helicopter accident since the pilgrimage began in the region on April 30. 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.
Toronto Sun
10 hours ago
- General
- Toronto Sun
Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India's Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing 7
Published Jun 15, 2025 • 2 minute read 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. AP LUCKNOW, India — A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed on Sunday in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing seven people on board, officials said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The helicopter was headed to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town when it crashed minutes after taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight. Nandan Singh Rajwar, a local disaster management official, said authorities have launched a rescue and search operation following the helicopter crash. The helicopter, 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. Officials said the dead included the pilot and pilgrims from the neighbouring 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. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. India's Civil Aviation Ministry suspended the operations of Aryan Aviation and directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to oversee all helicopter activity in the region, according to Press Trust of India. The ministry also ordered an investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, the news agency said. The crash comes three days after an Air India passenger plane crashed with the loss of 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. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Helicopter mishaps are not uncommon in the treacherous Kedarnath region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks. According to Press Trust, Sunday's was the fifth helicopter accident since the pilgrimage began in the region on April 30. 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. Read More Sports Sunshine Girls Editorial Cartoons Golf Relationships
