A crew member was killed and two pilots were injured when an eight-seater helicopter carrying pilgrims met with an accident while taking off from the Himalayan shrine of Badrinath in Uttarakhand on Saturday. All the five passengers were safe.
An official at the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in Delhi that an engineer, part of the crew, died.
Chamoli Superintendent of Police Tripti Bhatt told PTI on the phone that the engineer Vikram Lamba, who hailed from Assam, was hit by rotor blades as he jumped mid-air in panic.
Air pressure low
The police officer said the helicopter lost its balance as it took off at 7.45 a.m. because of insufficient air pressure and fell.
The pilot, Sanjay Waze, complained of slight backache, while co-pilot Alka Shukla, a resident of Kanpur, suffered minor injury.
The passengers who sustained minor injuries have been identified as Jashodaben, Naveen Bhai Patel, Leela Ben Patel, Harish Bhai and Ramesh Bhai. They were from Vadodara in Gujarat, and they had left for their destinations, the police officer said.
The Agusta 119 helicopter, belonging to the Mumbai-based private operator Krestal Aviation, was on its way from Badrinath shrine to Haridwar.
Probe ordered
Teams of the DGCA and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) have rushed to the spot. The AAIB will probe the accident, a senior DGCA official said.
Officials informed that the DGCA has been informed of the accident. DGCA Chief Secretary S. Ramaswamy has ordered a magisterial probe.
Commissioner of the Garhwal region, Vinod Sharma, informed that Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Joshimath had been assigned the probe.
(With inputs from IANS)
