Woman killed in first chopper crash on Amaranth route

Srinagar, July 9 (PTI) 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 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 India's
central state of 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 northern state 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 here.

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. PTI AMS
RAI
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