Rudraprayag:

Seven people were killed as a helicopter carrying them from the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand crashed early Sunday in the forests of Gaurikund amid poor visibility. The Bell 407 helicopter, operated by private firm Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd, crashed between Gaurikund and Trijuginarayan in Kedarghati and caught fire, killing all on board.

The committee will submit its report by September. Dhami has also given instructions for the preparation of a strict administrative and technical SOP for the operation of heli services in the coming times.

Dhami has also ordered a high-level investigation into the Gaurikund heli crash. "Negligence at whatever level may be, will be identified and action will be initiated against those responsible. Protecting the lives of the common people is the priority of the government," he said.

Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said the crash was caused by zero visibility due to bad weather. The state government has ordered a probe into the accident and temporarily suspended heli services for Char Dham pilgrims till Monday.

The probe team will find out the flying experiences of all pilots operating in the Himalaya region, and services will be resumed only after a meeting with the heli operators.

A common Command and Coordination Centre will be established in Dehradun for better coordination and safe operation of helicopters in the hilly region. Officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA), the disaster management department, civil aviation, Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA)and heli operating agencies will be deployed at the centre.

In a meeting at the official residence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday, the chief secretary has been directed to constitute a committee of technical experts, which will prepare the SOP after thoroughly reviewing all technical and safety aspects of heli operations. The committee will ensure that the operation of heli services is completely safe, transparent and as per the prescribed standards, an official statement said.

A resident of Shastri Nagar in Jaipur, Chauhan was working as a pilot with Aryan Aviation Private Ltd since October 2024.

Apart from this, the district administration was asked to contact the families of the deceased and make arrangements to dispatch their bodies.

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot expressed sorrow over the demise of seven people. "The death of seven people, including Jaipur resident pilot Rajveer Singh Chauhan, in the helicopter crash near Kedarnath is extremely sad. My deepest condolences are with the bereaved families in this difficult time," he said in a social media post.

"Only those pilots who have long flying experience in the higher altitudes of the Himalayas will be given permission, and the DGCA guidelines will be enforced more strictly," Dhami said. He has directed the installation of a greater number of state-of-the-art weather forecasting equipment in the Himalayan region for accurate weather information.

The chief minister said the importance of heli services in the state is immense for pilgrimage, disaster management and emergency services, hence safety will be given top priority in these.

The seven deceased hailed from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Rajveer Singh Chauhan, the pilot of the ill-fated helicopter, had served in the Indian Army for over 15 years with vast experience of flying missions over different terrains, overseeing aerial operations and had been trained in different types of helicopters and their maintenance, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Besides the pilot, a couple and their two-year-old daughter, hailing from Yavatmal in Maharashtra, were killed. They were identified as Rajkumar Jaiswal, a transport businessman, his wife Shraddha, and their two-year-old daughter Kashi, former Wani MLA Vishvas Nandekar told reporters in Yavatmal.

Jaiswal, along with his family members, had left Wani in Yavatmal on June 12 to visit the Kedarnath temple. A member of the Badrinath-Uttarakhand temple trust, Vikram Singh Rawat, was also killed with Vinood Devi (66) and Tushti Singh (19) from Uttar Pradesh.

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