By Shishir Prashant 7 killed as helicopter crashed near Kedarnath (updating)
PrashantNews
Six pilgrims and a pilot were killed on Sunday morning when a helicopter crashed on the Kedarnath route in Uttarakhand amid turbulent weather conditions, top officials said.
After the crash at 0530 hours in the Gaurikund jungles, the Bell 407 helicopter belonging Aryan Aviation company caught fire and burnt completely.
A rescue operation was immediately launched at the crash site with the help of NDRF, SDRF and local administration. The chopper was returning from Kedarnath shrine with six pilgrims, including an infant and a pilot when it suddenly entered into a patch of rough weather and lost control.
The rescuers recovered all the seven bodies and brought them to a hospital for identification and other legal formalities.
Taking serious view of the mishap, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered an inquiry and said the government would prepare a tough SOP for operation of helicopters in the Chardham area. Till Monday, all the helicopter services have been suspended in the Chardham area.
Earlier, several helicopters were either crashed or made emergency landings in the state causing big concern. A helicopter going to Gangotri crashed in Uttarkashi district killing six people on May 8. Another helicopter going to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on the road due to some technical snag on June 7.
Congress leader Suryakant Dhasmana and social activist Anoop Nautiyal expressed concern over these incidents and asked the government to take remedial steps.
