The incident comes days after an Air India airplane crashed within the western Ahmedabad metropolis, killing all however one of many 242 on board.
Seven individuals, together with a toddler, have been killed in India’s northern Uttarakhand state when a helicopter ferrying them for a Hindu pilgrimage crashed within the Himalayas, officers say.
Officers from the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Growth Authority informed reporters the chopper took off at about 5:30am (00:00 GMT) on Sunday from the temple city of Kedarnath for Guptkashi, a city some 37km (23 miles) away, however crashed shortly after takeoff.
The deceased have been recognized because the pilot, Captain Rajveer Singh Chauhan, and passengers Vikram Rawat, Vinod Devi, Trishti Singh, Rajkumar Jaiswal, his spouse Shraddha Jaiswal and their two-year-old daughter, Kashi.
The our bodies have been badly burned in a hearth that adopted the crash, authorities mentioned.
Uttarakhand’s State Catastrophe Response Pressure informed the ANI information company that the crash website is positioned in a distant and dense forest space, including that the rescue operation is below means in coordination with the native police.
#WATCH | Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand: Immediately, a helicopter working a flight on the sector Shri Kedarnath to Guptkashi was concerned in an accident. A complete of 07 individuals have been on board this helicopter, who died on the spot. Rescue groups have been instantly dispatched below the course… pic.twitter.com/DFSa7glmrI
— ANI (@ANI) June 15, 2025
Officers mentioned the crash was believed to have been brought on by poor climate circumstances.
In a submit on X, Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami known as the incident “very unhappy”.
Kedarnath, standing at an altitude of three,584 metres (11,759 toes), is residence to one of many 4 most sacred Hindu temple shrines and receives tens of hundreds of pilgrims annually throughout the summer season season.
To keep away from the arduous trekking within the mountainous terrain, prosperous pilgrims typically use helicopter constitution providers. However mishaps are frequent within the treacherous area, the place sudden climate adjustments and high-altitude flying circumstances can pose dangers.
On June 7, a helicopter working within the Kedarnath Valley made an emergency touchdown on a freeway attributable to a technical fault shortly after taking off. The pilot was injured, however all 5 passengers on board have been unhurt.
Final month, a helicopter crashed in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, killing six individuals, together with the pilot. One individual survived.
Indian media studies mentioned Sunday’s crash was the fifth such incident in lower than two months. It additionally got here solely days after an Air India airplane crashed in Ahmedabad metropolis, killing all however one in every of 242 passengers on board and dozens of others on the bottom.