6 Killed in Uttarakhand Helicopter Crash Near Gangnani; CM Orders Probe

Helicopter Crash: A private helicopter en route to the Gangotri shrine crashed near Gangnani in Uttarkashi district on Thursday, leaving six tourists dead and the pilot critically injured.

According to information received from SDRF sources, the helicopter, operated by AeroTrans Services Private Limited (VT-OXF) and piloted by Captain Robin Singh, had taken off from the Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun at 8:50 am on Thursday morning with six passengers.

The helicopter was scheduled to land at the Kharsali helipad, located approximately six kilometres from Gangotri Dham, when the crash occurred unexpectedly near the Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway.

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Four passengers on board were from Mumbai, while two others were from Andhra Pradesh, the SDRF said.

Local residents and police reached the site soon after the chopper crashed around 9 AM. According to initial reports, around seven passengers were on board.

Those killed were identified as Kala Chandrakant Soni (61), Vijaya Reddy (57), Ruchi Agrawal (56), Radha Agrawal (79), Vedvati Kumari (48) and Capt Robin Singh (60). Capt Singh hailed from Gujarat.

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Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

He wrote, "May God grant peace to the souls of those who died in the accident and give strength to the bereaved families to bear this immense loss."

Mr Dhami said he has instructed the administration to provide all possible help to the injured and investigate the accident. "I am constantly in touch with the officials in this regard and every situation is being monitored," he added.

State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) and district administration teams immediately reached the spot for relief and rescue work.

The District Magistrate of Uttarkashi has also left for the location. The cause of crash is being investigated.

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