Helicopter and Airplane Crash: India grapples with back-to-back disasters

India: Following one of the most threatening and devastating aviation disaster that took place in Ahmedabad, India on Thursday, another tragedy has struck the country as a helicopter crashed in Uttarakhand, a mountainous region of the country, yesterday. The accident claimed seven lives and has created widespread panic among the citizens.  

According to reports from local media, the aircraft was flying on a route on Kedarnath, a pilgrimage site devoted to Lord Shiva when the tragedy struck. Rescue teams immediately responded to the site and launched an operation to rescue those involved in the crash.  

Reports from local police confirmed that a pilot and a two-year-old child were among those killed, however, the identity of the others remains unknown. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will be performing the necessary investigation into the crash to fetch more details related to the accident.  

#FPVideo: A helicopter carrying six pilgrims and a pilot crashed while returning from the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand, India, killing all seven on board. The aircraft went down in a forested mountainous area after the weather suddenly deteriorated mid-flight. pic.twitter.com/Gx3Nlaawrq

— Firstpost (@firstpost) June 15, 2025

As per an official report from the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India, the helicopter was a Aryan Aviation Bell 407, VT-BKA aircraft, which took off on Sunday at around 5:15 pm local time. The helicopter was travelling to Guptkashi, which is a renowned pilgrimage site.  

The post shared by the CEO of Uttarakhand's Civil Aviation department revealed that the helicopter crashed at Gaurikund. Several ministers responded to the incident and expressed their condolences on the mishap. The officers also confirmed that a thorough investigation will be carried out to find out the exact cause of why this crash may have happened.  

#Watch | Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand | A helicopter flying from Shri Kedarnath to Guptkashi crashed today, claiming the lives of all 7 people onboard.

Rescue teams led by SDRF Cmdr Arpan Yadav were swiftly deployed.

The crash site, in dense forest, saw a coordinated response by… pic.twitter.com/JNXpPCnuxe

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However, this is to be noted that from past a few days, India has been grappling with several disasters specifically in the aviation industry. Recently an Air India Passenger plane crashed in India’s Ahmedabad which was carrying 242 passengers at the time of crash. 

The deadly crash claimed lives of all the passengers onboard the aircraft except one who miraculously survived the tragic crash. The plane notably crashed in a medical college where students were having their lunch at the time of crash, which lead to even more causalities and injuries.  

Apart from this on Sundaya river bridge also collapsed at a popular tourist destination in Pune which claimed two lives and injured 32 others. The incident notably occurred in Kundamala area which witnessed heavy rains in the past few days. The police officials and a dedicated team of the National Disaster Response Force responded to the site and performed the necessary rescue operations.