Rudraprayag (U’khand)- A helicopter ferrying pilgrims back from the Kedarnath temple crashed on Tuesday amid poor visibility, killing all seven people onboard.
The chopper burst into flames close to Garud Chatti and Jungle Chatti, killing six pilgrims and the pilot, Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh said.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief and ordered a detailed inquiry into the crash.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said his ministry is constantly monitoring the situation.
“The helicopter crash in Kedarnath is extremely unfortunate. We are in touch with the state government to ascertain the magnitude of the loss, and are constantly monitoring the situation,” he said in a tweet.
A senior civil aviation ministry official said the helicopter involved in the crash was operated by Aryan Aviation.
“According to the preliminary information, a Bell 407 helicopter VT-RPN crashed on the way from Kedarnath to Guptkashi, possibly due to bad weather,” a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
ACT NOW |
MONTHLY | Rs 100 | |
YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |