Another Air Tragedy in India as Helicopter Crash Kills Seven in India

Barely days after India witnessed one of its deadliest air disasters, another aviation tragedy struck early Sunday morning as a helicopter crashed in the northern state of Uttarakhand, killing all seven people on board.

According to reports from the BBC and local Indian media, the aircraft — an Aryan Aviation Bell 407 helicopter with registration VT-BKA — was en route from Kedarnath to Guptkashi, a popular pilgrimage route in the Himalayan mountains. The crash occurred around 5:30 AM, and among the dead were a two-year-old child, five other passengers, and the pilot.

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed the casualties and said that an investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to determine the cause of the crash.

“At around 5:30 AM, we got the information that a helicopter, which was going from Shri Kedarnath Dham, could not be located,” said an official of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Department.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), along with local rescue units, responded swiftly to the scene. The agency described the incident as “very sad news” and said emergency operations were ongoing at the crash site.

This marks the second major aviation disaster to hit India in less than a week. Just three days prior, an India Air Boeing 787 crashed into a residential neighborhood in Ahmedabad, killing at least 279 people, making it one of the deadliest air crashes in the country’s history.

As of Saturday, officials at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad confirmed receiving 270 bodies, with only one surviving passenger still under observation.

“He is doing very well and will be ready to be discharged anytime soon,” a hospital spokesperson told the Associated Press.

Authorities have begun collecting DNA samples from families of the deceased to aid in the identification and release of bodies.

The recent spate of crashes has sparked nationwide concerns over aviation safety, with questions being raised about aircraft maintenance, weather conditions, and air traffic oversight in challenging regions like the Himalayas.