A helicopter ambulance crashed in the Kedarnath Shrine area on Saturday near the temple helipad. The heli ambulance had gone to airlift a devotee from Kedarnath to AIIMS Rishikesh.

The Ill-fated helicopter ambulance belonging to AIIMS Rishikesh crashed barely 20 metres from the Kedarnath while attempting to land. Although the pilot remained unscathed, an AIIMS spokesperson stated that the heli ambulance had flown to Kedarnath to pick up a seriously ill patient. According to the AOIIMS PRO, the accident occurred during landing.

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The tail rotor of the helicopter was damaged, but no one was injured, and the pilot was rescued safely. Besides the pilot, one other passenger was on board when the accident occurred.

Notably, the heli ambulance service ‘Sanjeevani’ for AIIMS Rishikesh was launched on October 29, 2024, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was the country’s first heli ambulance service for AIIMS, inaugurated online from Delhi, along with a host of health projects worth over ₹12,800 crore.

Earlier, in September 2022, former Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced the plan for a heli ambulance at AIIMS Rishikesh. The AIIMS Rishikesh heli ambulance scheme is being operated with a 50 percent partnership between the Centre and the Uttarakhand government.

Saturday’s heli crash was not the only incident during the ongoing Chardham pilgrimage in 2025. On May 8, a helicopter en route to Gangotri crashed near Gangani, killing six people, including five women.