A helicopter ferrying pilgrims back from the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand crashed on Tuesday due to bad weather and poor visibility, killing all seven people onboard.
Rudraprayag District’s Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh said, the chopper burst into flames near Garud Chatti. CEO of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority C Ravi Shankar said, the incident took place around 11:40 am.
He said, the chopper was carrying pilgrims from Kedarnath to Guptkashi. The police as well as State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams are carrying out the search and rescue operation.
Mr Shankar said, the cause of the accident will be known after a proper investigation..
President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor Gurmeet Singh and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami have expresses condolences over the helicopter crash at Garuda Chatti near Kedarnath. The Chief Minister has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said in a tweet, the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand is extremely unfortunate. He said, the Central government is in touch with the State government to ascertain the magnitude of the loss, and are constantly monitoring the situation.