PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Uttarkashi
SSix persons died and one was seriously injured when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed near Gangnani in Uttarkashi district on Thursday morning. The chopper with seven persons including the pilot was plying from Dehradun to Harshil when the mishap occurred at about 8:40 AM.
The police, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and other personnel reached the site to carry out the search and rescue operation on being informed about the mishap. The seriously injured person was sent by air ambulance to a higher centre for treatment.
According to officials, the bodies of the six victims were extricated from the gorge and sent for post mortem examination. The injured person has been identified as M Bhaskar (51) from Andhra Pradesh. Those who died in the mishap were identified as Mumbai residents Vijaylakshmi Reddy (57), Ruchi Agrawal (51), the pilot Robin Singh (60) from Gujarat, Radha Agrawal (79) from Uttar Pradesh, Vedavati (48) from Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai resident Chandrakanta Soni (61).
Expressing grief at the mishap, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed officials to ensure swift and proper treatment to the injured while also directing a high-level inquiry to ascertain the cause of the mishap. He said that the probe must be conducted in a transparent manner and the report should be submitted to the State authorities.
The chief minister further directed that a strategy must be prepared and necessary technical arrangements must be put in place to prevent such mishaps from taking place in the future. The safety standards must be reviewed and any required corrective measures must be implemented without delay. The government accords top priority to the safety of citizens, Dhami stressed.
