The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday ordered an investigation into the helicopter crash that took place early this morning near the Gaurikund forest area in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that the safety procedures of helicopter operations in the state will be thoroughly examined.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate the crash, the second such incident in 40 days.
Earlier last month, a Crystal Aviation helicopter crashed on May 5, killing six devotees who were going to visit the Gangotri Shrine.
Besides these crashes, around three helicopters, including an ambulance of AIIMS, had to undertake an emergency landing due to technical snags.
The latest incident took place early Sunday morning at around 5:30 am when the chopper carrying six pilgrims and a pilot crashed within 10 minutes of taking off. All seven passengers, including a two-year-old child, were charred to death.
According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Aryan Aviation Helicopter was taking pilgrims to Kedarnath Dham from Guptkashi.
Following the tragic incident, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a virtual high-level meeting with officials to review the incident. He said the government will examine the safety procedures of helicopter operations.
“The helicopter accident in Rudraprayag is extremely unfortunate. I express my deepest condolences to the deceased in this painful accident. I pray to God to grant the souls of the deceased a place in His feet and give strength to the bereaved family to bear this immense pain. A high-level meeting was held with all the concerned departments at the Government House to thoroughly review this accident. The safety procedures of helicopter operations are being closely examined,” CM Dhami said.
The Chief Minister stated that any compromise on passenger safety will not be accepted.
“Our effort is to ensure that no such accident occurs in the future, for this SOP is being made more stringent and effective. Any compromise on the safety of passengers will not be accepted,” he added.