By Arun Pratap Singh
Kedarnath (Rudraprayag), 24 May: A major accident was averted as a helicopter carrying pilgrims from Sirsi to Kedarnath was forced to make an emergency land 100 metres from the Kedarnath Helipad this morning.
According to the reports, the chopper developed a technical snag and became unstable in the air just before the landing in Kedarnath. The pilot demonstrated patience and emergency landed the chopper about 100 metres below the helipad, thus managing to avert a possible crash. Reports said that the chopper became unstable while it was preparing to land in Kedarnath as the rudder got damaged. But, somehow, the pilot managed to finally land the chopper safely 100 metres from the destination. The chopper was being operated by M/s Crystal Aviation and Kalpesh was the pilot.
There were 6 passengers in the helicopter. All these passengers, including the pilot, narrowly escaped by landing safely. It may be recalled that M/s Crystal Aviation Company is operating its choppers between Sirsi Helipad and Kedarnath. The incident happened around 7 a.m. today. All those travelling in this chopper are from Tamil Nadu. Their names have been given by the district administration as Shivaji, Ullu Venkatchalam, Maheshwari, Sundara Raj, Sumati, and Mayur Baghwani. According to the eyewitness and the viral videos, the helicopter spun several times in the air near the helipad of Kedar Dham. Due to this, panic spread and the staff present started running away. The pilgrims waiting to board the chopper to return to Sirsi also panicked and ran to a safe distance. However, the pilot turned the chopper towards the ground below and managed to safely land there.
An investigation into the incident and the technical fault in the helicopter has been ordered by the DGCA. According to DGCA sources, M/s Crystal Aviation Company will be able to resume its flights to Kedar Valley only after the investigation is completed. It is worth noting that in the past, also, a helicopter of Crystal Company had faced an accident. Rawal Peethadhishwar Bhima Shankar Linga of Kedar Dham was also brought to Doon from Ukhimath by the helicopter of this company after falling ill three days ago.
District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar reported that Pilot Kalpesh made a safe landing in the emergency situation.
Following the landing of the chopper, the police personnel and the administration officials rushed to the spot and helped the passengers come out of the chopper and took them to the temple for the Darshan. The district administration stated that arrangements were made for the pilgrims’ return by choppers of other aviation companies. The administration further claimed that arrangements are being made for all the passengers booked with Crystal Aviation to travel by choppers of other companies as far as possible.
District Magistrate, Rudraprayag, Saurabh Gaharwar said that once the chopper of the Crystal Aviation flying from Sirsi to Kedarnath developed a technical snag, the pilot decided to land at the earliest in order to avoid a possible crash. He said that the technical fault in the chopper is being investigated. It may be recalled that Kedarnath has seen several chopper accidents in the past few years. At present, a total of 9 aviation companies are operating helicopter services to Kedarnath Dham.
