Rudraprayag

All seven people, including the pilot on board a helicopter which crashed near the forested area of Gaurikund in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district early on Sunday morning died on spot, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said.

The Aryan Aviation Helicopter was flying to Guptkashi from the Kedarnath Dham when it crashed at 5:30 am today.

The deceased have been identified as Captain Rajbir Singh Chauhan (39), resident of Jaipur, Vikram Rawat (47) a Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee representative and resident of Rasi, Vinod Devi (66), resident of Uttar Pradesh, Trishti Singh (19), resident of Uttar Pradesh, Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal (41), resident of Gujarat, Shraddha Rajkumar Jaiswal and Kashi (2), resident of Maharashtra.

Rescue teams were immediately dispatched under the direction of SDRF Commander Arpan Yadav. The incident spot was located in a very inaccessible and dense forest area, where a fast-paced and coordinated rescue operation was carried out by the joint teams of SDRF, NDRF, and local police.

Rescue teams worked in inclement weather to retrieve the bodies of the deceased. Furthermore, the bodies will be brought down to the road by the SDRF team.

Employees of BKTC gathered at all the offices of the temple committee and expressed condolences at the demise of BKTC employee, Vikram Rawat, the Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee spokesperson, Harish Gaur said.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a virtual high-level meeting with senior officials from the CM residence after the helicopter crash.

State Chief Secretary, Disaster Management Secretary, UCADA CEO, Garhwal Commissioner and other senior officials were present in the high-level meeting.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate the crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated.

The DGCA further said that, in light of the crash, the frequencies of helicopter operations to Char Dham would be reduced as a precautionary measure.

Enhanced surveillance and operational reviews are also being carried out by DGCA.

"Today, Aryan Aviation Bell 407 helicopter VT-BKA operating flight on sector Shri Kedarnath ji- Aryan Helipad, Guptkanshi, was involved in an accident. There were five passengers, one infant and one crew member on board. The helicopter took off at 05:19 hours for Guptkanshi and crashed near Gaurikund," DGCA said providing details of the crash.

Chief Executive Officer of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Department (UCADA), Sonika, stated that helicopter shuttle services in the area had been closed given the ongoing relief operations and weather conditions in the valley.

Sonika further stated that the District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) will reach the site soon.

"Since the rescue operation is underway and seeing the weather conditions in the valley, our shuttle services have been closed. Almost all the helicopters are involved in the rescue operation. DM and SSP will also reach the site soon," Sonika told ANI.

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"At around 5:30 AM, we got the information that a helicopter, which was going from Shri Kedarnath Dham to Guptkashi, could not be located. After some time, it was learnt that it had crashed near Gaurikund. Rescue operation is underway, SDRF teams have reached the spot. A total of 6 passengers and one pilot were on board the helicopter..." she further said.