
A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed in northern India’s Uttarakhand state on Sunday, killing all seven people on board, including a two-year-old girl and the pilot, authorities confirmed.
The aircraft, operated by private firm Aryan Aviation, was en route from the revered Kedarnath temple to Guptkashi when it went down in a forested area near Gaurikund shortly after takeoff at 5:20 a.m. local time. Witnesses reported the helicopter burst into flames upon impact, leaving the victims severely burned.
"Very sad news has been received about a helicopter crash in Rudraprayag district," Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami posted on X, formerly Twitter. He added that the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local rescue teams had launched relief operations.
Initial reports suggest adverse weather conditions may have contributed to the accident. "Poor visibility due to bad weather likely caused the crash," said Rahul Chaubey, a district tourism official. The Kedarnath temple, situated at 3,584 meters in the Himalayas, is a major pilgrimage site, with helicopter services increasingly used to bypass treacherous terrain.
The victims were Indian nationals from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) has dispatched investigators to determine the exact cause.
A Troubled Pattern
Sunday’s crash is the fifth helicopter accident in Uttarakhand in just over a month, raising concerns about safety in the region’s booming pilgrimage air transport sector. On May 8, six people died when a helicopter crashed near Uttarkashi, and another emergency landing occurred in early June due to technical issues.
The state, known as "Dev Bhoomi" (Land of the Gods) for its sacred Hindu sites, sees hundreds of daily helicopter sorties during peak pilgrimage seasons. Critics have called for stricter oversight, including improved air traffic control systems in the mountainous region.
The tragedy follows another aviation disaster in India earlier this month, when a passenger plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed 270 lives, underscoring persistent safety challenges in the country’s air transport network.