Seven people, including a pilot and an infant, tragically lost their lives on Sunday morning when a helicopter en route from Kedarnath to Guptkashi crashed near Gaurikund in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district. The aircraft, operated by Aryan Aviation, took off from the Kedarnath helipad around 5:20 AM but went missing shortly after authorities lost communication with it. Locals later spotted smoke rising from the forested area near Gaurikund, leading rescue teams to the crash site.
Inspector Anirudh Bhandari of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) confirmed that all seven onboard had died in the crash. The victims were identified as Captain Rajveer Singh Chauhan (pilot), Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal (41), Shradha Rajkumar Jaiswal (35), and their 23-month-old child Kashi, all residents of Maharashtra; Vikram (46) from Rudraprayag; and Vinod Dev (66) and Tusti Singh (29) from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh. District tourism officer Rahul Chaubey stated that the helicopter encountered sudden adverse weather while returning from Kedarnath, which led the pilot to attempt an emergency maneuver out of the valley, but the aircraft ultimately crashed.
This tragic incident marks the fifth helicopter-related mishap in the region within two months. Just days earlier, on June 7, another chopper carrying five pilgrims crash-landed on the Guptkashi-Gaurikund highway, though no casualties were reported in that case. Reacting to the latest crash, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed deep sorrow and assured that the SDRF and local authorities are actively engaged in ongoing relief and rescue operations. He also prayed for the strength and safety of all affected families.
