Seven people have died in a helicopter crash in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials have said.
According to local media reports, the aircraft was flying from Kedarnath along a popular pilgrimage route in the Himalayan mountains.
It is understood that rescue teams were immediately dispatched and an operation to retrieve the bodies has been carried out with local police.
The pilot and a two-year-old child were among those killed, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said, adding that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate the crash.
India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said the Aryan Aviation Bell 407 helicopter VT-BKA, took off on Sunday just after 05:15 local time.
Five passengers, one child and one crew member were on board the flight bound for Guptkashi – another popular town for pilgrims.
“At around 05:00, we got the information that a helicopter, which was going from Shri Kedarnath Dham, could not be located,” the CEO of Uttarakhand’s Civil Aviation Department said.
It was then discovered that the helicopter had crashed near Gaurikund.
In a post on X, the state’s chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, described the incident as “very sad news”, adding that the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local administration and other rescue teams were engaged in relief and rescue operations.
Dhami confirmed he had ordered an inquiry into the cause of the crash.
The state’s director-general of information, Bansidhar Tripathi, said there had been “three emergency landings and two helicopter crashes in the past month and a half” along the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage route.
A meeting between senior officials in the wake of the crash ordered helicopter services for the route be completely closed until Monday.
Helicopter services would only resume after a meeting with all operators had been carried out and the flying experience of all pilots in the high Himalayan regions had been checked, Dhami said in a statement.
He also ordered a strict Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for helicopter services in the state to establish a common command and coordination centre in the state’s capital of Dehradun for better coordination and safer operation.
“The negligence at whatever level has been committed will be identified and punitive action will be ensured,” Dhami said.
He added that the District Administration for Rudraprayag was also instructed to contact the families of the people who lost their lives in the accident and make proper arrangements to send their bodies to the respective states.
Hundreds of thousands of people visit the four temple towns – Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath – along the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage route every year.
This has led to an industry of helicopter charter firms developing to serve wealthy pilgrims who want to visit the shrines but avoid arduous trekking.
