According to AFP and AP, a helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed in Uttarakhand state of India on Sunday, killing all seven people, including a child.
The tragedy took place on Thursday a few days after a separate disaster associated with Air India flight in Ahmedabad, in which at least 279 people lost their lives at least 279.
The helicopter operated by Aryan Aviation was flying from Kedarnath – one of the holiest temples of Hinduism in the house – Gopkashi, another major pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, when it crashed. Indian officials said the accident occurred a few minutes after the takeoff. The flight was only to last for ten minutes.
Adverse weather is likely to blame
All six passengers and pilots were killed. Officials believe that the possibility of bad weather conditions played a role in the accident, said a local tourism department official.
In every summer, thousands of pilgrims come to the Kedarnath temple, which sits at a height of 3,584 meters (11,759 ft). As AFP notes, the pilgrimage site is one of the four sacred Hindu temples, which attracts thousands of visitors during the pilgrimage season. Due to the rugged mountainous region, many pilgrims choose to travel a helicopter trip to reach the holy site.
According to AP, this latest accident follows another deadly helicopter accident on the same route last month, killing six people.
