First chopper crash on Amaranth route kills woman

A helicopter ferrying pilgrims to Amarnath shrine crashed near the holy cave, killing a 50-year-old woman on the ground and seriously injuring four passengers and the pilot in south Kashmir Himalayas on Thursday.

This is the first incident of chopper crash since the helicopter service to the cave shrine situated at the altitude of 3,880 metres was introduced about four years back.

Kalavati, a resident of Baitul district in Madhya Pradesh, was trekking towards the shrine when she was hit by the blades of the private helicopter which developed a technical fault and hit the ground between Sangam and the Lower Camp on the periphery of the shrine.

The cave-bound helicopter, operated by Himalayan Aviation Company, had taken off from Baltal base camp with four passengers on board and met with the accident at 7.20 am, CEO of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) B B Vyas said.

The condition of two pilgrims, O P Aggarwal and Tej Pal Singh, residents of Uttar Pradesh, was stated to be stable.

Two other pilgrims Rajesh Kumar and his wife Vandana, from Kolkata, and pilot Captain Parminder Singh were airlifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences.

The incident will be investigated by a team comprising Deputy Director Air Safety and Assistant Director Air Safety being deputed by the Director General Civil Aviation, New Delhi, Vyas said.

While the accident site has been cordoned off, the yatra is progressing smoothly on both the Pahalgam and Baltal routes, he said.