SEVEN people including a toddler have died after a helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims from a shrine crashed in the Himalayas.
The tragic accident in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, occurs merely three days following the Air India disaster in Ahmedabad, which claimed the lives of at least 279 individuals.
The chopper reportedly crashed within just minutes of taking off on Sunday, during what was supposed to be a 10-minute flight.
Local authorities report that the pilot and all six passengers perished when the helicopter crashed during their journey from the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand.
They were on their way to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas.
Footage of the aftermath showed smoke rising from the site of the crash while rescue workers surrounded the chopper.
All of the seven bodies were badly burned in the fire which raged on after the initial smash.
State chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said rescue teams had been sent to the scene following the “very sad news”.
The local tourism official said that the tragic crash was likely caused by bad weather conditions.
The chopper was operated by private helicopter service Aryan Aviation.
It descended and crashed in a forested area several miles from the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5.30am local time.
Horrifying images showed smoke billowing up from the ruins of the crashed chopper.
Rescue teams worked together on the scene, in front of the burning pile of destroyed helicopter parts.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims visit Kedarnath every summer.
It is home to one of the four most sacred Hindu temple shrines.
Travelling by helicopter there is common due to the challenging mountainous terrain.
It comes just days after Air India’s London Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner smashed into a doctor’s hostel in Ahmedabad, India.
Some 241 passengers and crew are believed to have been killed – leaving a miracle sole survivor – and 28 people on the ground also died.
Full video of the crash shows the plane heading down the runway before lifting into the air.
After barely 30 seconds the plane appears to dip and goes begins an agonising descent back to the ground.
It then exploded in a fireball as it crashed into the nearby doctors’ hostel.
Investigations are still ongoing into the cause of the crash – with at least one of the black boxes recovered from the wreck.
Both pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Clive Kunder and believed to be among the dead.
Mr Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of experience, while his colleague Mr Kunder had 1,100 hours.
The sole survivor of the crash – Vishwash Ramesh – could also provide key clues as to what happened to the plane.
He said cabin lights began flickering before the jet sank through the air and crashed.
Recalling the moments leading to the disaster, Vishwash from Leicester remarked: “When the flight commenced, it felt like it was suspended in the air within five to 10 seconds.”
“Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white.
“The aircraft wasn’t gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.”
