Kedarnath Helicopter Tragedy: 7 Killed in Crash Near Shrine — Fifth Incident in Two Months
The Aryan Aviation helicopter departed from the Kedarnath helipad around 5 a.m. but went “missing” shortly after authorities lost contact with it.;
A tragic helicopter crash early Sunday morning claimed the lives of all seven people on board as the aircraft went down near Gaurikund in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district. The chopper, operated by Aryan Aviation, was flying from Kedarnath to Guptkashi when it lost contact with authorities shortly after takeoff around 5:20 a.m.
Inspector Anirudh Bhandari from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) confirmed the devastating news, stating, “All seven people on board the chopper are dead.”
The victims have been identified as Captain Rajveer Singh Chauhan, who was piloting the aircraft, along with passengers Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal (41), his wife Shradha (35), and their 23-month-old child Kashi — all residents of Maharashtra. The other passengers were Vikram (46) from Rudraprayag, and Vinod Dev (66) and Tusti Singh (29), both from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh.
According to Rahul Chaubey, the district tourism officer and the nodal officer for helicopter services in the region, the chopper ran into sudden bad weather in the valley. “The pilot tried to steer the helicopter to safety, but unfortunately, it crashed,” Chaubey said. He added that a search was launched as soon as the helicopter went missing, and locals later reported smoke near Gaurikund, confirming the crash site.
This marks the fifth helicopter-related incident in the Char Dham pilgrimage region within just 40 days.
Just days earlier, on June 7, another helicopter made a crash landing on the Guptkashi-Gaurikund highway near Barasu. That incident involved five pilgrims. Thankfully, there were no fatalities, and only the pilot suffered minor injuries.
Reacting to Sunday’s tragedy, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “Very sad news has been received about a helicopter crash in Rudraprayag. SDRF, local administration, and rescue teams are on the ground. I pray to Baba Kedar for the safety of all the travellers.”
This heartbreaking incident follows another aviation disaster in the country. On Thursday, an Air India Boeing 787-8 flight (AI171) crashed into a medical hostel in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff, killing 270 people. Among the dead were nearly all 242 passengers and crew on board, as well as 29 people on the ground, including five MBBS students from BJ Medical College.