Chopper crash near Vaishno Devi kills 7

Seven people, including a woman pilot, were killed when a helicopter ferrying them back from the famous Vaishno Devi shrine crashed in Katra, 50 km from Jammu, on Monday.

A three-month-old baby and a newlywed couple, who got married on November 18, were among the dead.  

“Seven people, six pilgrims and the woman pilot, died in the crash. Investigation is on. Technical fault might have also led to the accident,” IGP Jammu Danish Rana told reporters.

He said the single-engine chopper, built in 2010, crashed around 12:30 pm.
Jammu & Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said a bird was found dead near the crash site.

“It seems the helicopter collided with a bird that led to the crash. We will be inquiring further,” he said.

Eyewitnesses told Deccan Herald that the chopper, which was returning from Sanjichat to Katra, crashed and caught fire while trying to land in an open area. Helicopter services begin from Katra, the foothills to the shrine, and drop pilgrims at Sanjichat.

“The tail rotor of the helicopter got damaged and the copter went out of control. The pilot was trying to avoid buildings and crashed while landing in open space,” they said.

The pilot, Sumeeta Vijayan, had carried out sorties to Amarnath shrine in South Kashmir as well, the police said. The helicopter belonged to the privately run Himalayan Heli Services, which also runs choppers for the Chardham Yatra in Uttarakhand.

Following the incident, the Katra-Vaishno Devi helicopter service was temporarily suspended. The Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has announced a compensation of Rs 3 lakh each for next of the kin of the deceased.

In February, a military helicopter crashed in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district killing the pilot and co-pilot.