Nagpur: In a tragic incident near the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand, a helicopter carrying pilgrims crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday morning, June 15, killing all seven people on board. Among the deceased were a couple from Yavatmal district in Maharashtra and their two-year-old daughter.

The victims have been identified as Rajkumar Jaiswal, a transport businessman from Wani in Yavatmal, his wife Shraddha, and their daughter Kashi. According to former Wani MLA Vishvas Nandekar, the family had embarked on a pilgrimage to Kedarnath on June 12.

The helicopter, operated by Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd, took off from Kedarnath for Guptkashi at around 5:30 am but crashed shortly after near the dense forest region of Gaurikund, approximately 5 km above a location known as Gauri Mai Khark. The crash site lies between Gaurikund and Trijuginarayan in the Kedarghati region.

Officials confirmed that along with the Jaiswal family, the pilot, an employee of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, and two other pilgrims also lost their lives in the accident.

Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar attributed the crash to extremely poor visibility caused by inclement weather. The helicopter reportedly caught fire upon impact.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has been assigned to conduct a detailed probe into the cause of the crash. The civil aviation ministry has assured a thorough investigation to determine safety lapses, if any.

This crash comes just days after a major aviation disaster involving an Air India flight in Ahmedabad that killed over 240 people.