DEHRADUN: Seven people, including a toddler, were killed on Sunday in India when a helicopter ferrying Hindu pilgrims from a shrine crashed in the Himalayas, officials said.

The fatal accident comes as relatives mourn at least 279 people killed when a passenger plane slammed into a residential area in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday.

The helicopter crash left the pilot and all six passengers dead when their chopper came down during the flight from Kedarnath temple, in Uttarakhand state, disaster response official Nandan Singh Rajwar told AFP.

It was likely caused by bad weather, according to state tourism official Rahul Chaubey. The incident prompted Indian civil aviation authorities to suspend chopper services to shrines in the Himalayas, Chaubey said.

Helicopter was ferrying Hindu pilgrims from Kedarnath temple

“Very sad news has been received about a helicopter crash in Rudraprayag district,” the state’s chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, posted on X, adding that the State Disaster Response Force, local administration and other rescue teams were engaged in relief and rescue operations.

Dhami said in a statement he has ordered an inquiry into the cause of the crash, adding that there will be “zero tolerance for any compromise with passenger safety”.

Helicopter service for the pilgrimage will be resumed only after a meeting with all helicopter operators, Dhami said.

The Bell 407 helicopter, operated by Aryan Aviation, took off at 5:19am, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.

Calls to Aryan Aviation seeking comment went unanswered.

Pilgrims flock to Kedarnath, which stands at an altitude of 3,584 metres, and other revered Himalayan shrines during the summer when it is possible to access them.

Helicopter charter firms serve wealthy pilgrims who want to visit mountainous shrines while avoiding arduous trekking.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2025