Five people were killed and two others seriously injured in a helicopter crash near Ganganani in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district in India on Thursday morning, officials confirmed.
The helicopter, carrying six tourists and a pilot, went down in a mountainous area close to the Indo-China border. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
“Relief and rescue teams were immediately rushed to the site upon receiving the alert,” said Garhwal Divisional Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey. “The two injured passengers have been taken for urgent medical treatment.”
Images released by local authorities showed the mangled interior of the helicopter and blood-stained seats. Emergency personnel, including teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the district administration, are at the crash site.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed condolences to the victims’ families and announced an official investigation into the incident. In a statement posted on social media, he said, “The extremely distressing news has been received about the loss of lives in a helicopter crash near Gangnani. SDRF and district administration teams have reached the accident site for relief and rescue operations.”
The chief minister confirmed he is in constant contact with officials and has directed the administration to provide all possible assistance to the injured.
