A helicopter with seven people on board had to make an emergency landing about 100 meters from the Kedarnath helipad due to a technical issue. Fortunately, all six passengers and the pilot are safe.
According to the district disaster management officer of Rudraprayag, a helicopter from Kestrel Aviation, traveling from the Sirsi helipad to Kedarnath Dham, encountered a technical problem and made an emergency landing around 7:05 AM, just short of the Kedarnath Dham helipad.
This year, the Char Dham Yatra began on May 10 with the opening of the shrines at Gangotri, Yamunotri, and Kedarnath. The Badrinath shrine opened on May 12.
The Char Dham Yatra holds deep spiritual significance in Hinduism, typically taking place from April-May to October-November. Pilgrims are traditionally advised to complete the Char Dham Yatra in a clockwise direction, starting from Yamunotri, then proceeding to Gangotri, Kedarnath, and finally Badrinath.
Due to the large number of pilgrims, the Uttarakhand government has mandated online registration for all participants, as offline registration is no longer available in Haridwar and Rishikesh.
