Seven dead in Rudraprayag as helicopter carrying pilgrims crashes

Seven persons died on Sunday in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district when a helicopter carrying pilgrims taking part in the Char Dham Yatra crashed near the Gaurikund area, The Indian Express reported.

The helicopter, which was travelling from Kedarnath to Guptkashi, went missing around 5.20 am, Inspector General (Law and Order) Nilesh Bharne said. The crash took place at Gauri Mai Khark, which is about 5 kilometres uphill from Gaurikund.

The pilot of the helicopter – Captain Rajbir Singh Chauhan from Jaipur – was among those killed, The Indian Express reported. The others were Vikram Rawat from Uttarakhand, Vinod Devi and Trishti Singh from Uttar Pradesh, Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal from Gujarat, Shraddha Rajkumar Jaiswal and two-year-old Kashi from Maharashtra.

The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority said that the helicopter, a BELL 407 utility chopper belonging to a company named Aryan Aviation Private Limited, crashed because of unknown reasons.

This was the fifth helicopter accident in Uttarakhand in about 40 days, The Hindu reported. In the wake of the accidents, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered the formulation of a standard operating procedure for helicopter services in the state.

“The Chief Minister has directed the Chief Secretary to constitute a committee of technical experts that will conduct an in-depth review of all technical and safety aspects of helicopter operations and formulate the SOP,” The Indian Express quoted the chief minister’s office as saying. “This committee will ensure that heli-services operate in a safe, transparent manner and in strict adherence to established standards.”

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