Helicopter Crashes In Uttarakhand, Seven Feared Dead

The chopper burst into flames near Jungle Chatti on the way to the shrine.

PTI @PTI_News

18 Oct 2022, 02:06 PM IST

<div class="paragraphs"><p>Representative image. (Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@isaacbenhesed?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Isaac Benhesed</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/helicopter?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>)</p></div>

Representative image. (Photo by Isaac Benhesed on Unsplash)

A helicopter carrying pilgrims from Guptkashi to Kedarnath crashed on Tuesday due to poor visibility, leaving seven feared dead.

The chopper burst into flames near Jungle Chatti on the way to the shrine.

Minister of Civil Aviation 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," the minister said in a tweet.

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.
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) October 18, 2022

According to a senior civil aviation ministry official, the helicopter was operated by Aryan Aviation, New-Delhi based organisation that offers helicopter tour packages for the "Char Dham Yatra".

"According to the preliminary information, a Bell 407 helicopter VT-RPN crashed on the way from Kedarnath to Guptkashi, possibly due to bad weather," said a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.