Helicopter crashes near Kedarnath, 7 killed including pilots; CM orders probe

A chopper carrying Kedarnath pilgrims from Phata village in Uttarakhand crashed near Garud Chatti on Tuesday (October 18), killing all seven people on board. An investigation is underway and seven bodies have been recovered, according to the report. All seven people, including pilots, have been confirmed dead in the helicopter crash that took place about three kilometers from Kedarnath. The helicopter belonged to Aryan Aviation and crashed at around 11:45 am.

#WATCH | Uttarakhand: A helicopter carrying Kedarnath pilgrims from Phata crashes, casualties feared; administration team left for the spot for relief and rescue work. Further details awaited pic.twitter.com/sDf4x1udlJ

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2022

A huge plume of smoke is visible in the aftermath of the accident. Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted on the incident and said that the situation is being continuously monitored.

The helicopter crash in Kedarnath is extremely unfortunate. We are in touch with the State government to ascertain the magnitude of the loss, and are constantly monitoring the situation.

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) October 18, 2022

SDRF’s DIG Riddhima has given information regarding this accident. Riddhima said, “SDRF and police team have reached the spot. Initial investigation suggests bad weather and poor visibility caused the crash. This accident happened at 11.50 am. Bad weather is also hampering the operation.”

“The exact cause of the accident will be known after a proper investigation,” said C Ravi Shankar, CEO, of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ABP News (@abpnewstv)

Expressing grief over this incident, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a probe.

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

2013 – On June 21, a private helicopter crashed after hitting a hill near GarudChatti.
2013 – The biggest helicopter accident in Kedarnath happened on 25 June 2013. The Kedarnath flood disaster happened at that time. An Army Mi-17 helicopter is engaged in relief and rescue operations. During this, it crashed in the dense hills between Gaurikund and Rambara in fog and bad weather. In this incident, 20 soldiers including a pilot and copilot were martyred.
2013 – On 24 July, a helicopter crashed in Kedar Valley. In this, a copilot and an engineer died.
2018 – On April 3, the Mi-17 of the army crashed after being entangled with an electric wire. In this incident, all the passengers survived safely.
2019 – On 23 September, a helicopter of UTair-Helicopter Company crashed while taking off at the helipad in Kedarnath. But there was no casualty in this accident.