One helicopter don crash for Hindu pilgrimage site for northern India, inside Uttarakhand state, wey kill seven people, including one small pikin and di pilot, according to wetin local authorities and media report.
Di helicopter, wey Aryan Aviation dey operate, dey carry pilgrims from Kedarnath go Guptkashi when e crash early Sunday, June 15, near Gaurikund for Rudraprayag district. Dem talk say di aircraft lose contact with air traffic control shortly after e take off from Dehradun, before dem later find am crash for mountainous area between Trijuginarayan and Gaurikund.
Nilesh Bharne, wey be Inspector General of Police for Law and Order, confirm say di crash happen around 5:20 a.m., and all di seven people wey dey inside die. Di victims include pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Dem body burn seriously because of fire wey happen after di crash.
Early reports dey suggest say na technical wahala join with bad weather cause di crash, but proper investigation don start.
Dis incident come just few days after another air disaster for Gujarat, where Air India plane crash enter residential building, kill at least 270 people.
As reaction to di helicopter crash, Uttarakhand Governor Pushkar Singh Dhami express him sorrow and say rescue team, including State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), don enter di area. “Di heartbreaking news of helicopter crash for Rudraprayag don reach us,” he post for X. “Rescue operation still dey go on.”
Authorities don also talk say dem go review helicopter flight operations for di region. Di road to Kedarnath – one of Hinduism holy places – tough well with bad terrain and unpredictable weather. Na why many pilgrims dey use helicopter during di annual Char Dham Yatra wey start from early May.
Dis one na di fifth helicopter wahala for Kedarnath route this season. Earlier for June, another helicopter get wahala and do emergency landing but all six passengers survive.
Di Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) don suspend operators before and even tighten rules because of safety concern for di area. Crashes don happen before for this same route – especially for October 2022, where another helicopter crash kill seven people.
