Helicopter Crashes During Airlifted Recovery Operation By Another Chopper In Kedarnath: VIDEO

A damaged chopper slipped and crashed near Mandakini River while being recovered by a Mi-17 helicopter. No injuries were reported in the incident.

A helicopter, that was earlier damaged during a landing at the Kedarnath Dham in Uttarakhand, slipped from an MI-17 chopper during a recovery operation on Saturday and crashed near the Mandakini River. It was being airlifted to Gauchar airstrip for repair work. No injury or casualty was reported in the accident, which was also caught on camera.

As per the Indian Airforce, the damaged Kestrel civil helicopter had to jettison the load due to flight safety reasons. "The crew safely released the load over an unpopulated area, ensuring no damage to life or property. An enquiry has been ordered," IAF said in a post on X.

The crashed chopper was operated by a private company and was earlier involved in ferrying passengers to Kedarnath temple. It had to make an emergency landing due to a technical fault on May 24, 2024.

District Tourism Officer Rahul Chaubey said, "There was a plan to take the helicopter to Gauchar airstrip on Saturday, with the help of Mi-17 aircraft, for repair. As soon as it covered a little distance, the Mi-17 started losing balance due to the weight of the helicopter and wind, due to which the helicopter had to be dropped near Tharu camp. There was no passenger or luggage on the helicopter. The rescue team reached the spot as soon as the information was received. The team is inspecting the situation."

Meanwhile, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) is engaged in the search and rescue operation at the crash site. "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. 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," the force said in a statement. 

The incident comes in the backdrop of the Kedarnath yatra, which has been affected by the heavy rain in Uttarakhand. Though the trek route had remained largely suspended in August, the pilgrims arrived at the Himalayan temple on helicopters.