LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed early Sunday in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing seven people on board, officials said.
The chopper was flying to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town, when it crashed. The accident occurred within minutes after the helicopter took off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight.
Nandan Singh Rajwar, a local disaster management official, said authorities have launched a rescue and search operation and are expected to review operational protocols for flights in the region.
The chopper, operated by Aryan Aviation, a private helicopter service company, went down in a forested area several kilometers (miles) from the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5:30 a.m. local time. Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather conditions.
Kedarnath is home to one of the four most sacred Hindu temple shrines and receives tens of thousands of pilgrims each year during the summer season, many of whom use helicopter services due to the difficult mountainous terrain.
Officials said the dead included the pilot and pilgrims from the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh and western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The bodies were badly burned in a fire that followed the crash, they said.
Helicopter mishaps are not uncommon in the treacherous Kedarnath region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks.
On June 7, a helicopter operating in the Kedarnath Valley made an emergency landing on a highway due to technical fault shortly after taking off. The pilot was injured but all five passengers on board were unharmed.
On May 8, a helicopter crashed in Uttarkashi district, killing six people, including the pilot. One person survived.