Seven people have died in a helicopter crash in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials have said.
According to local media reports, the aircraft was flying from Kedarnath along a popular pilgrimage route in the Himalayan mountains.
It is understood that rescue teams were immediately dispatched and an operation to retrieve the bodies has been carried out with local police.
The pilot and a two-year-old child were among those killed, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said, adding that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate the crash.
India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said the Aryan Aviation Bell 407 helicopter VT-BKA, took off on Sunday just after 05:15 local time.
Five passengers, one child and one crew member were on board the flight bound for Guptkashi – another popular town for pilgrims.
“At around 5:30 AM, we got the information that a helicopter, which was going from Shri Kedarnath Dham, could not be located,” the CEO of Uttarakhand’s Civil Aviation Department said.
It was then discovered that the helicopter had crashed near Gaurikund.
In a post on X, the state’s chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, described the incident as “very sad news”, adding that the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local administration and other rescue teams were engaged in relief and rescue operations.
Dhami confirmed he had ordered an inquiry into the cause of the crash.
