Rudraprayag: A helicopter carrying 6 pilgrims and pilot has crashed in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand. All 7 onboard have died in the crash, officials have confirmed. A SDRF team is rushed to the spot.
The Bell 407 helicopter, VT-RPN, of Aryan Aviation crashed near Garu Chatti while on the way from Kedarnath to Guptkashi.
Initial reports say bad weather could be the cause of the accident.
"Seven people died in the helicopter crash in Phata, Uttarakhand," says Abhinav Kumar, Special Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Uttrakhand.
Among the dead, 4 pilgrims were from Gujarat, 2 from Jharkhand and Karnataka each and pilot was from Mumbai.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed his anguish over the incident. "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," he tweeted.