Seven killed in helicopter crash in India’s Uttarakhand state

The incidental comes days aft an Air India level crashed successful the occidental Ahmedabad city, sidesplitting each but 1 of the 242 connected board.

Seven people, including a toddler, person been killed successful India’s bluish Uttarakhand authorities erstwhile a chopper ferrying them for a Hindu pilgrimage crashed successful the Himalayas, officials say.

Officials from the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority told reporters the chopper took disconnected astatine astir 5:30am (00:00 GMT) connected Sunday from the temple municipality of Kedarnath for Guptkashi, a municipality immoderate 37km (23 miles) away, but crashed soon aft takeoff.

The deceased person been identified arsenic the pilot, Captain Rajveer Singh Chauhan, and passengers Vikram Rawat, Vinod Devi, Trishti Singh, Rajkumar Jaiswal, his woman Shraddha Jaiswal and their two-year-old daughter, Kashi.

The bodies were severely burned successful a occurrence that followed the crash, authorities said.

Uttarakhand’s State Disaster Response Force told the ANI quality bureau that the clang tract is located successful a distant and dense wood area, adding that the rescue cognition is nether mode successful coordination with the section police.

#WATCH | Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand: Today, a chopper operating a formation connected the assemblage Shri Kedarnath to Guptkashi was progressive successful an accident. A full of 07 radical were connected committee this helicopter, who died connected the spot. Rescue teams were instantly dispatched nether the direction… pic.twitter.com/DFSa7glmrI

— ANI (@ANI) June 15, 2025

Officials said the clang was believed to person been caused by mediocre upwind conditions.

In a station connected X, Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called the incidental “very sad”.

Kedarnath, lasting astatine an altitude of 3,584 metres (11,759 feet), is location to 1 of the 4 astir ineffable Hindu temple shrines and receives tens of thousands of pilgrims each twelvemonth during the summertime season.

To debar the arduous trekking successful the mountainous terrain, affluent pilgrims often usage chopper charter services. But mishaps are communal successful the treacherous region, wherever abrupt upwind changes and high-altitude flying conditions tin airs risks.

On June 7, a chopper operating successful the Kedarnath Valley made an exigency landing connected a road owed to a method responsibility soon aft taking off. The aviator was injured, but each 5 passengers connected committee were unharmed.

Last month, a chopper crashed successful Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, sidesplitting six people, including the pilot. One idiosyncratic survived.

Indian media reports said Sunday’s clang was the 5th specified incidental successful little than 2 months. It besides came lone days aft an Air India level crashed successful Ahmedabad city, sidesplitting each but 1 of 242 passengers connected committee and dozens of others connected the ground.