Six killed in helicopter crash in Uttarakhand (2nd Ld)

Dehradun, May 8 (IANS) Six tourists, including five women, were killed on the spot as a helicopter, in which they were travelling, crashed near Gangnani in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi on Thursday.

The deceased were identified as Kala Soni, Vijaya Reddy, Ruchi Aggarwal, all hailing from Mumbai; Radha Aggarwal from Uttar Pradesh; Vedavati Kumari from Andhra Pradesh; and Robin Singh from Gujarat.

The injured was identified as Bhaskar from Andhra Pradesh. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. near Gangnani when the helicopter, belonging to a private company, was flying from Dehradun's Sahastradhara to Harshil.

After hearing about the accident, locals, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Quick Response Teams (QRTs) and 108 ambulance vehicles rushed to the spot.

Two police teams, headed by cops Naveen Kumar from Bhatwadi and Pushar Jeena from Ujeli, rushed to the spot. The SDRF team spotted the helicopter in a 200-250 metre gorge, after which the rescue operation was launched.

The cause of the accident is yet to be identified. After getting the news of the tragic incident, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the demise of those killed in the accident.

He also prayed for peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families to bear the irreparable loss. The Chief Minister also instructed the administration to provide all possible help to the injured and probe the incident.

In a post on social media platform X, he said: "Got the news of some casualties in a helicopter crash near Gangani in Uttarkashi. SDRF and district administration teams have immediately reached the spot for relief and rescue work."

"May God grant peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families to bear this immense sorrow. I have instructed the administration to provide all possible help to the injured and probe the accident. I am constantly in touch with the officials and monitoring every situation," his post read.

--IANS

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