In a tragic incident, a helicopter with a pilot and six other pilgrims crashed on its way back from Kedarnath, Uttarakhand after colliding with a hill due to low visibility.
This happened near Garud Chatti, 2 km before Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, all seven people in the helicopter lost their lives.
According to the eyewitnesses, this accident happened when the helicopter was coming back from Kedarnath within a few minutes of taking off. The chopper was owned by Aryan Aviation Private Limited, a Delhi-based company.
The team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has their base camp there and immediately started the search operation action along with the district police at the spot. However, due to rain, the operation was facing hindrances.
SDRF issued a statement informing that the crash took place somewhere between Lincholi and Garud Chatti, and the rescue teams had arrived at the site from Kedarnath and Lincholi.
The deceased included the pilot Anil Singh(58) and six passengers – Poorva Ramanuj (26), Kruti Barad (30) and Urvi Barad (25) from Gujarat and Prem Kumar (63), Sujata (56) and Kala (60) from Tamil Nadu.
Captain Anil Singh was an army pilot and had joined Aryan Aviation only recently. His family included his wife and daughter.
The Gujarat government announced the amount of ₹ 4 lakhs each to the families of the three deceased women.
All further flights have been suspended till further order.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia and the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami tweeted about the incident.
PM Modi offered his condolence to the families of the deceased.
Anguished by the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) October 18, 2022
CM Dhami stated that this was a tragic incident and SDRF and district administration have been sent to the relief and rescue. He also mentioned that the orders of investigation have been sent.
केदारनाथ के समीप गरुड़ चट्टी में दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण हेलीकॉप्टर क्रैश में कुछ लोगों के हताहत होने का अत्यंत दु:खद समाचार प्राप्त हुआ है। राहत और बचाव कार्य हेतु SDRF और जिला प्रशासन की टीम घटनास्थल पर पहुंच चुकी है। इस दु:खद घटना के विस्तृत जांच के आदेश दे दिए गए है।
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) October 18, 2022
Scindia tweeted that the crash was unfortunate and that the aviation ministry was in constant touch with the state government.
Negligence in Kedarnath
Kedarnath is one of the most visited destinations for pilgrims all around the country. It’s around a 16-18 km walk from the Gaurikund, the last point where vehicles go.
Apart from on foot, pilgrims use horses and helicopter services as well due to the difficulty of the path.
Around 1.35 lakhs of pilgrims have used chopper services this year. The weather wasn’t favourable for the chopper as it was dense fog all around. It must be noted that a red alert was given last week and it had rained quite well there.
According to the locals, the chopper services are still active even when the weather is unfavourable.
The company Aryan Aviation was fined by the authorities in June for the violation of the norms. Seven out of nine operators were reportedly violating the aviation norms and five of the have been fined by the DGCA.
Several tragedies in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand has been suffering from natural disasters and several other tragedies for a long. However last two months have been tragic. Recently a bus fell off the cliff which was going to the wedding.
Then lives were lost due to the avalanche in Uttarkashi. Recently two trekkers got stuck in the snowy mountains of the Kedarnath Ransi trek where one trekker from West Bengal lost his life. And now this is another tragedy in Uttarakhand.
