A helicopter carrying seven people, including pilgrims, made an emergency landing in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand, due to a technical issue early on Friday. According to an official, the helicopter landed a few meters from the helipad near the Himalayan temple. There were seven people on board, the pilot and six pilgrims. The official confirmed that everyone was safe, news agency PTI reported.
Rudraprayag District Magistrate Saurabh Gaharwar reported that the helicopter had departed from the Sirsi helipad bound for Kedarnath early on Friday. Viral videos on social media showed moments of Helicopter carrying pilgrims losing control and narrowly averting a crash in the Himalayas.
Helicopter carrying pilgrims narrowly avoids crashing after losing control at the Kedarnath helipad in the Himalayas
Possibly a “loss of tail rotor effectiveness” (LTE) situation. When the tail rotor of a chopper is exposed to wind forces that prevent it from carrying out its… pic.twitter.com/Oe0kseMlAJ
— Karnataka Weather (@Bnglrweatherman) May 24, 2024
Aircraft Experienced Technical Issue: Police
Citing preliminary reports, Rudraprayag DM Gaharwar said that the aircraft experienced a technical issue with its rear motor, forcing the pilot to perform an emergency landing just meters from the Kedarnath helipad. The pilot maintained calmness and made a swift decision, preventing a significant mishap, Gaharwar stated, PTI reported.
“The helicopter was on its way from Sirsi to Kedarnath in the morning. Due to a technical fault, the helicopter had to make an emergency landing 100 metres before the Kedarnath helipad,” he said.
He also said that everyone was safe and the pilgrims had even returned after receiving “darshan” at the temple. The incident took place around 7 am and further probes are underway.
Pilot Kalpesh has confirmed that all passengers are safe following an emergency landing. He stated that without this emergency landing, a major accident could have occurred. Passengers expressed their relief after the safe landing. Notably, there are currently nine helicopter services operating in Kedarnath Dham.
