Six killed as private chopper on way to Gangotri board crashes in Uttarakhand

A helicopter on way to the Gangotri temple crashed near Gangnani in Uttarkashi district on Thursday, 8 May, killing six people, including the pilot, and leaving one seriously injured, officials said.

The helicopter of Ahmedabad-based private company AeroTrans Services Pvt Ltd, with seven people on board, crashed over Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway at around 8:45 am and fell into a gorge about 200-250 metres deep, State Disaster Response Force said.

The helicopter had left Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun for Kharsali helipad. It was on way to Gangotri from there when it crashed, an official said.

Those travelling on the plane were identified as Vinit Gupta, Arvind Agarwal, Vipin Agarwal, Pinki Agarwal, Rashmi, and Kishore Jadhav.

Police, army force, disaster management team, and ambulances have left for the spot near Uttarkashi.

The cause of the accident is yet to be identified.

After hearing about the accident, locals and police reached the spot and launched the rescue operation. State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Quick response teams, 108 ambulance vehicles, and other officials have rushed to the spot.

After getting the news of the tragic incident, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the demise of those killed in the accident.

He also prayed for peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families to bear the irreparable loss.

The chief minister also instructed the administration to provide all possible help to the injured and probe the incident.

In a post on social media platform X, he said: "Got the news of some casualties in a helicopter crash near Gangani in Uttarkashi. SDRF and district administration teams have immediately reached the spot for relief and rescue work." "May God grant peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families to bear this immense sorrow. I have instructed the administration to provide all possible help to the injured and probe the accident. I am constantly in touch with the officials and monitoring every situation," his post read.

According to officials, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will probe the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand.

The company's Bell helicopter was involved in the crash.

As per information available on aviation regulator DGCA's website, AeroTrans Services has two Bell helicopters and one Cessna aircraft.

Coming under the civil aviation ministry, AAIB is responsible for classification of safety occurrences' involving aircraft operating in the Indian airspace into accidents, serious incidents and incidents.

It carries out detailed investigations into accidents and also suggests measures to improve safety.