Kedarnath Helicopter Crash: 7 Dead Near Shrine in 5th Such Incident in 2 Months

Kedarnath Helicopter Crash: Seven people died after a helicopter travelling from Kedarnath Dham to Guptkashi crashed after going missing in Gaurikund, Uttarakhand, on Sunday, an official said.

The mishap happened around 5:20 am on Sunday. According to the information, “The helicopter took off from Guptakashi at 05:10 am and landed at Shri Kedarnath ji Helipad at 05:18 am. Helicopter took off again at 05:19 am for Guptkanshi and crashed near Gaurikund.”

Uttarakhand helicopter crash | Today, at around 5:20 am, a helicopter, which was going from Shri Kedarnath Dham to Guptkashi, has been reported to have crashed near Gaurikund. There were six passengers, including the pilot (5 adults and 1 child). The passengers in the helicopter… pic.twitter.com/AVGtuxWKGj

— ANI (@ANI) June 15, 2025

Inspector Anirudh Bhandari of state disaster response force (SDRF) said, “All seven people on board in chopper are dead.”

The victims were identified as Captain Rajveer Singh Chauhan (pilot); Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal (41), Shradha Rajkumar Jaiswal (35), Kashi (23 months), residents of Maharashtra, Vikram (46), a resident of Rudraprayag; Vinod Dev (66), and Tusti Singh (29), residents of Bijnor in UP.

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District tourism officer Rahul Chaubey, who is also the nodal officer for chopper service in Rudraprayag, said, "We recieved information about missing helicopter earlier this morning. A search operation was launched to trace the helicopter. The belonging to Aryan Aviation was returning from Kedarnath Dham to its base in Guptkashi when it encountered sudden adverse weather conditions in the valley. The pilot attempted to navigate the helicopter out of the valley; however, the aircraft crashed during the effort."

As the chopper was returning after Kedarnath Dham visit, the weather had deteriorated. The pilot attempted to wear off chopper from the valley but it crashed.

"The weather turned bad during the return journey. The pilot tried to move the chopper out of the valley but it crashed near Gaurikund. Authorities, including NDRF and SDRF are leading the operations," said Rahul Chaubey from the District Tourism Development.

One of the passengers was a Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) employee, Vikram Rawat from Ukhimath in Uttarakhand, said Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey.

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Among the dead are three members of a Jaiswal family from Maharashtra's Yavatmal - Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal, Shraddha Jaiswal and their 23-month-old daughter Kashi Rajkumar Jaiswal. Their son, Vivaan, got saved as he stayed back with his grandfather.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his grief over the tragedy, calling it “extremely distressing”. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he stated: “The extremely distressing news of a helicopter crash in Rudraprayag district has been received. SDRF, local administration, and other rescue teams are engaged in relief and rescue operations.”

This marks the fifth aviation-related incident since the Kedarnath temple doors opened for pilgrims on 2 May. In an earlier event on 7 June, another helicopter en route to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on a highway due to a technical fault shortly after take-off. The aircraft narrowly avoided nearby buildings, and its tail rotor detached, striking a parked car. The five pilgrims aboard were unharmed, though the pilot sustained minor injuries.

Authorities have raised concerns over flight safety in the region, urging tighter regulations and inspections amid the ongoing Char Dham pilgrimage season.

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