‘Extremely sad’: Rajasthan CM grieves loss of Jaipur pilot, pilgrims in Uttarakhand chopper crash

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Sunday stated that the loss of life of a pilot from the State and other devotees in the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath is extremely “sad”.

केदारनाथ में हेलीकॉप्टर के दुर्घटनाग्रस्त होने से हुई राजस्थान के पायलट तथा अन्य श्रद्धालुओं की जनहानि का समाचार अत्यंत दुःखद है।

बाबा केदार दिवंगत आत्माओं को अपने श्री चरणों में स्थान व शोकाकुल परिवार को यह वज्रपात सहन करने की शक्ति प्रदान करें।

ॐ शांति!

— Bhajanlal Sharma (@BhajanlalBjp) June 15, 2025

In a social media post, the Rajasthan CM said, “The news of the loss of life of the pilot from Rajasthan and other devotees due to the helicopter crash in Kedarnath is extremely sad. May Baba Kedar give place to the departed souls in his feet and provide strength to the bereaved families to bear this lightning strike.”

Earlier this morning, seven people, including the pilot on board a helicopter were killed after the chopper crashed near the forested area of Gaurikund in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said.

The Aryan Aviation Helicopter was flying to Guptkashi from the Kedarnath Dham when it crashed at 5:30 am today.

The deceased have been identified as Captain Rajbir Singh Chauhan (39), resident of Jaipur, Vikram Rawat (47) a Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee representative and resident of Rasi, Vinod Devi (66), resident of Uttar Pradesh, Trishti Singh (19), resident of Uttar Pradesh, Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal (41), resident of Gujarat, Shraddha Rajkumar Jaiswal and Kashi (2), resident of Maharashtra.

Rescue teams were immediately dispatched under the direction of SDRF Commander Arpan Yadav. The incident spot was located in a very inaccessible and dense forest area, where a fast-paced and coordinated rescue operation was carried out by the joint teams of SDRF, NDRF, and local police.

Rescue teams worked in inclement weather to retrieve the bodies of the deceased.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a virtual high-level meeting with senior officials from the CM residence after the helicopter crash.

State Chief Secretary, Disaster Management Secretary, UCADA CEO, Garhwal Commissioner and other senior officials were present in the high-level meeting.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate the crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated.

The DGCA further said that, in light of the crash, the frequencies of helicopter operations to Char Dham would be reduced as a precautionary measure.

Sonika further stated that the District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) will reach the site soon.

“Since the rescue operation is underway and seeing the weather conditions in the valley, our shuttle services have been closed. Almost all the helicopters are involved in the rescue operation. DM and SSP will also reach the site soon,” Sonika said.

“At around 5:30 AM, we got the information that a helicopter, which was going from Shri Kedarnath Dham to Guptkashi, could not be located. After some time, it was learnt that it had crashed near Gaurikund. Rescue operation is underway, SDRF teams have reached the spot. A total of 6 passengers and one pilot were on board the helicopter…” she further said. (ANI)