New Delhi:

A defective helicopter, which was being airlifted from Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath to Gauchar by an MI-17 chopper, accidentally fell from mid-air as the towing rope snapped this morning.

The helicopter, which was operated by a private company, crashed near the Mandakini River in Lincholi. An official said that no one was injured in the accident, which was caught on camera.

“Today, the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) rescue team received information through police in 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,” the news agency ANI quoted an official as saying.

The chopper was earlier involved in ferrying passengers to Kedarnath temple.

There has been a sharp drop in the number of pilgrims going to Kedarnath since July 31 due to extensive damage caused by heavy rain to the trek route to the Himalayan temple.

Rain-induced landslides along the route from Gaurikund to Kedarnath had left thousands of people stranded, prompting the administration to launch a massive rescue operation aided by the Air Force’s Chinook and MI17 helicopters, besides private choppers.

Though the trek route had remained largely suspended in August, the pilgrims arrived at the temple on helicopters.

Chardham Yatra began this year on May 10 with the opening of the Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri temples for pilgrims. The portals of Badrinath opened on May 12.

More than 33 lakh pilgrims have so far visited the Himalayan temples.

New Delhi:

At least three pilgrims, including two from Maharashtra, were killed in a landslide triggered by rains when they were en route to Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath temple today, officials said.

Eight people were also injured in the accident, which occurred on a pathway between Gaurikund and Chirbasa in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district.

The third victim has been identified as a resident of Rudraprayag.

“Devotees were buried under the debris at Chirbasa on the Kedarnath Yatra route. Teams of the State Disaster Response Force and District Disaster Response Force are carrying out rescue operations,” Rudraprayag’s District Magistrate posted on X.

“Efforts to minimise the possibility of injuries and loss of life. The district administration continuously requests travellers to stay in a safe place,” the senior official added.

केदारनाथ यात्रा मार्ग के चीरबासा पर अचानक मलबा आने से दबे यात्री ॥
SDRF, DDRF और YMD रेस्क्यू का कार्य कर रहे है।
घायल और जनहानि की संभावना को कम से कम रखने के प्रयास ॥
जिला प्रशासन लगातार यात्रियों से सुरक्षित जगह रुकने का अनुरोध करता है।#mansoon#chardhamyatra2024pic.twitter.com/51kK0W6mSK

— DM Rudraprayag (@DmRudraprayag) July 21, 2024

Earlier in the day, the Gangotri National Highway near Bishanpur was closed due to a landslide.

#RouteUpdate

गंगोत्री राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग बिशनपुर सैंज के पास मालवा व पत्थर आने के कारण बाधित है।BRO द्वारा मार्ग को सुचारु करने का कार्य किया जा रहा है। पुलिस टीम मौके पर है। pic.twitter.com/9lNynOGowi

— Uttarkashi Police Uttarakhand (@UttarkashiPol) July 21, 2024

Landslides triggered by heavy rains over the past few weeks have left some of Uttarakhand’s key highways blocked.