Helicopter en route to Kedarnath crashes, killing all seven aboard

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) – A helicopter carrying pilgrims from Kedarnath crashed on Sunday morning, killing all seven people aboard, including a two-year-old girl, authorities said, as preliminary analysis showed the aircraft went down in treacherous weather in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand.

“The valley was covered in dense fog with overcast conditions [at the time of the crash],” said state disaster response force commandant Arpan Yadhuvanshi. Rescue teams trekked five kilometres through difficult terrain to reach the wreckage in a forest near Gaurikund, the base camp for treks to Kedarnath temple.

Dehradun (Uttarakhand): Helicopter en route to Kedarnath crashes, 7 people dead.#kedarnathdham #HelicopterAccident #KedarnathCrash

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1. The victims included pilot Rajveer Singh Chauhan, 35, a former army officer from Jaipur; a family of three from Maharashtra — Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal, 41, his wife Shradha, 35, and their daughter Kashi, 2; two passengers from Uttar Pradesh, Vinod Devi, 66, and her granddaughter Tusti Singh, 19; and temple committee member Vikram Singh Rawat, 46.

2. This is the third helicopter accident in Kedarnath in recent days. Earlier crashes occurred on May 17 and June 7. In May, a helicopter en route from Dehradun to Gangotri Dham crashed near Ganganai in Uttarkashi, resulting in the deaths of 6 people.