Indian Himalayan state Uttarakhand helicopter crash kills 7 pilgrims

Helicopter carrying 7 on board from Hindu pilgrimage site crashed in northern Indian state

Indian Himalayan state Uttarakhand helicopter crash kills 7 pilgrims
Indian Himalayan state Uttarakhand helicopter crash kills 7 pilgrims

A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims has crashed in India, killing seven people on board.

According to Sky News, he accident happened within minutes of the helicopter taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight.

The helicopter was flying to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

It comes three days after an Air India flight crashed less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in northwestern India, killing at least 270 people.

The helicopter, which was operated by private helicopter service Aryan Aviation, went down in a forested area several miles from the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5.30am local time.

Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather conditions.

Authorities say they have launched a search and rescue operation and are expected to review operational protocols for flights in the region.

As per the officials the dead include the pilot and pilgrims from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh and western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, adding that the fire due to crash has burned the bodies of the victims badly.