Kedarnath helicopter crash: Chopper being airlifted falls off mid air as towing rope snaps

Reacting to the incident, District Tourism Officer Rahul Chaubey said: “There was a plan to take the helicopter to Gauchar airstrip on Saturday with the help of an Mi-17 chopper for repairs. After covering a little distance, the Mi-17 started losing balance owing to the weight of the helicopter and strong winds. As such, it had to drop the other chopper near Tharu camp. There was no passenger or luggage in the helicopter. A team has reached the spot and is inspecting the situation.”

VIDEO | Uttarakhand: A defective helicopter, which was being air lifted from #Kedarnath by another chopper, accidentally fell from mid-air as the towing rope snapped, earlier today.#UttarakhandNews

(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/yYo9nCXRIw

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 31, 2024

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), whose personnel were present at the location of the crash, said in a statement: “Today, the SDRF rescue team received information through Police post Lincholi that a faulty helicopter of a private company, which was being towed by another helicopter from Shri Kedarnath helipad to Gochar helipad, fell into the river at Lincholi near Tharu Camp.”

It added: “The SDRF team has reached the spot and relief work is going on. There has been no loss of life in this incident. Search is being conducted by the SDRF team.”

SDRF personnel at the crash site. (Photo: ANI)

Earlier in May, A Leonardo A119 Koala helicopter, owned by Kestrel Aviation and bearing the callsign VT-CLR, lost control as it approached the Kedarnath helipad for landing. The helicopter had six passengers aboard. The pilot managed to make an emergency landing approximately 100 metres from the helipad.