NEW DELHI, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Six people were killed in a helicopter crash in the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on Friday, news agency ANI reported, citing an official from the state’s civil aviation authority.
The helicopter was flying from Badrinath, a prominent pilgrimage destination for Hindus located in the mountains, to Dehradun city, the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) said in a statement.
All six people on board the chopper, including five passengers and the pilot, were killed, ANI reported, citing UCADA’s Chief Executive Officer Prateek Jain.
“The helicopter lost communication while it was flying over Joshimath valley. At the same time, the tracking system could no longer track the helicopter,” the authority said.
The entire fleet of the operator, Trans Bharat Aviation, had been grounded “as a precautionary measure”, it added.
The operator did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the incident.
A joint search and rescue operation was carried out by the district administration, disaster management teams and troops in the region, officials said.
TV channels said that rescue teams had rushed to the site of the crash and fire and smoke were visible there.
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee and Abhijith Ganapavaram ; Writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by YP Rajesh and Andrea Ricci )
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