Seven killed as helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in Himalayas

Seven people, including a toddler, lost their lives on Sunday when a helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed in the Himalayan region of India, officials confirmed.

The fatal accident occurred just days after the devastating incident, in which at least 279 people died when a passenger plane crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad, located in western India.

According to Nandan Singh Rajwar, a disaster response official, the helicopter was en route from the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand state when it went down, killing the pilot and all six passengers.

Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, responded to the incident by stating that rescue operations had been launched following the “very sad news.”

Rahul Chaubey, a tourism official from the district, indicated that poor weather conditions were likely to blame for the crash.

Kedarnath temple, situated at an elevation of 3,584 meters, attracts large numbers of pilgrims during the summer months when access to the site becomes possible. To accommodate the growing demand, particularly from affluent pilgrims seeking to avoid the difficult trek, several helicopter charter services have emerged.

This incident follows another fatal helicopter crash last month, which also claimed six lives on the way to the same temple.