Eric Patrick
A helicopter crash in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand has claimed the lives of all seven people on board, including a two-year-old child and the pilot.
The Aryan Aviation Bell 407 chopper (registration VT-BKA) was en route from Kedarnath to Guptkashi—part of a popular Himalayan pilgrimage route—when it went down early Saturday morning.
The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Department said it received a distress alert at about 5:30 a.m., after the aircraft lost contact with air traffic control.
Rescue teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local authorities quickly mobilised to the crash site.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has confirmed that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will lead the probe into the crash.
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“This is very sad news,” said an SDRF spokesperson.
The tragedy comes just days after a deadly plane crash involving an India Air Boeing 787 in Ahmedabad, which killed over 270 people when the jet plummeted into a residential area.
Recovery efforts continue at that site, where only one passenger has been confirmed alive. The Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad reported receiving 270 bodies and said the lone survivor “is doing very well and may be discharged soon.”
Authorities have begun collecting DNA samples from victims’ families to aid in identification.