A helicopter with seven people, including pilgrims, on board made an emergency landing in Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath after developing a technical snag early on Friday.
The helicopter landed a few metres from the helipad at the Himalayan temple, an official said.
A Leonardo A119 Koala helicopter owned by Kestrel Aviation, Callsign VT-CLR, lost control at about 0700h today morning as it approached the Kedarnath Helipad for landing in Uttarakhand.It was a miraculous escape for the crew and the six passengers onboard the helicopter.The… pic.twitter.com/9oMEUhDtZY— Ashok Bijalwan अशोक बिजल्वाण (@AshTheWiz) May 24, 2024
It was carrying seven people, including six pilgrims and the pilot. Everyone is safe, he said.
Uttarakhand: An accident was averted in Kedarnath Dham. Due to a problem in its rotor, a helicopter, belonging to Crystal Company, landed away from helipad. There were 6 people on board, all of them are safe. The accident happened while going from Phata to Kedarnath Dham pic.twitter.com/MflCI2vgT0— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 24, 2024
Rudraprayag District Magistrate Saurabh Gaharwar said the helicopter took off from the Sirsi helipad for Kedarnath early on Friday.
It developed a technical snag in its rear motor, prompting the pilot to make an emergency landing a few metres from the helipad in Kedarnath, he said citing preliminary reports.
The pilot kept his cool and took a quick decision, averting a major mishap, Gaharwar said.
Everyone is safe and the pilgrims have even returned after having ”darshan” at the temple, he added.
The incident occurred around 7 am and further investigations are underway, Gaharwar said.
(With inputs from agencies)
