Missing helicopter crashes near Uttarakhand's Gaurikund; Seven dead

A helicopter belonging to Aryan Aviation, flying from Kedarnath Dham to Guptkashi, crashed in the jungles of Gaurikund, leading to the deaths of seven people, including the pilot. 

Following the crash, helicopter services operating in the Char Dham region have been suspended until further notice. 

The decision was jointly taken by Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority and Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

The victims were identified as Captain Rajveer Singh Chauhan (pilot); Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal (41), Shradha Rajkumar Jaiswal (35), Kashi (23 months), residents of Maharashtra, Vikram (46), a resident of Rudraprayag; Vinod Dev (66), and Tusti Singh (29), residents of Bijnor in UP.

The chopper took off at 05:17 am to Guptkashi and was returning from Kedarnath after picking up passengers when it went off course due to poor weather conditions in the Kedarnath valley. 

Officials confirmed that the weather in the region was severely bad, which reportedly caused the helicopter to lose its way.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the incident, posting on X: "Extremely sad news has been received about the helicopter crash in Rudraprayag district. SDRF, local administration, and other rescue teams are engaged in relief and rescue operations."

Additionally, Chief Minister Dhami said that a high-level committee—already constituted to investigate previous helicopter accidents in the state—will now also investigate today’s crash. 

The committee will examine all aspects of these incidents in depth, identify any negligence, and recommend strict action against responsible individuals or agencies.

Source: India Today