5 Mishaps In 6 Weeks: Inside Kedarnath's Risky Circuit - What’s Causing The Crisis?

There has been an alarming increase in the number of helicopter crashes or emergency landings on the Chardham yatra route in Uttarakhand, the recent being Bell 407 helicopter crash on Sunday that claimed seven lives. A helicopter, belonging to Aryan Aviation Private Limited, crashed due to bad weather in the forests of Gauri Mai Khark between Gaurikund and Triyuginarayan on Sunday. Seven people were killed in the crash, including a two-year-old child and the pilot.

Helicopter crashes or emergency landings are occurring at an alarming frequency on the Char Dham Yatra route leading to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri shrines. This is the fifth such incident in the last 40 days.

The latest crash involving the Aryan Aviation chopper returning from Kedarnath near Guptkashi on Sunday morning, June 15, was the fifth helicopter accident on the pilgrimage route since the start of the Yatra on April 30.

On June 7, a helicopter going to Kedarnath had to make an emergency landing on the road due to a technical fault soon after take-off in which the pilot was injured but the five devotees on board were rescued safely. The helicopter had made a hard landing on a road close to populated buildings. The helicopter's tail rotor had hit a parked car.

On May 8, a helicopter going to Gangotri Dham crashed in Uttarkashi district in which six people were killed. The chopper was on its way to Gangotri temple crashed near Gangnani in the Uttarkashi district.

On May 12, a helicopter returning from Badrinath to Sersi with pilgrims on board had to make an emergency landing in a school playground in Ukhimath due to poor visibility. All pilgrims were safe. The helicopter took off again after about an hour when the weather improved.

On May 17, a heli ambulance from AIIMS Rishikesh crash-landed near the Kedarnath helipad in Uttarakhand due to damage to its rear part. Fortunately, all three occupants on board - a doctor, a pilot, and a medical staff member - escaped unharmed.

'No ATC, No Weather Station, No Emergency Landing Site'

The pilots fly in the region "with very little real-time weather support," Manoj Kumar was quoted as saying by TOI. "We are flying in one of the world's most unforgiving regions," he said, highlighting that the weather in the region "is unpredictable and changes rapidly."

Another veteran pilot, sharing his difficulty, told the English Daily, "There is no ATC or weather station." A pilot said, "There are no emergency sites. No route info is provided. Until these issues are fixed, operations should be stopped."

Calling it 'suicidal' to allow planes to fly in this landscape without adequate infrastructure, social activist Anoop Nautiyal on Monday asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to halt helicopter operations on the Chardham Yatra route for the entire pilgrimage season this year and instead, build an infrastructure suitable for safe flying in the challenging Himalayan terrain.

"Since we have had five heli crashes in the past 6 weeks, why can't you simply put a complete stop on helicopter operations for this year's yatra season. This time should be utilised in preparing the much needed infrastructure for aero safety on the Char Dham Yatra route," Nautiyal wrote in a post on X addressing the DGCA. He emphasised that the lives of pilots and pilgrims are at risk with "no ATC, no radars and no real-time weather updates".

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