A mechanical problem forced a chopper carrying seven people—six of them pilgrims—to make an emergency landing on Friday morning close to Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
According to an official, all passengers—including the pilot—are safe, according to PTI.
Watch the footage of Kedarnath's emergency helicopter landing.
The incident's CCTV footage has finally surfaced, demonstrating the helicopter's unsuccessful attempt to land on the helipad. Nevertheless, the pilot managed to bring the drone down in an open field a short distance from the helipad.
"Pilot made a snap decision while maintaining composure."
Early on Friday, a helicopter headed for Kedarnath took off from the Sirsi helipad, according to Rudraprayag district magistrate Saurabh Gaharwar. Its back motor malfunctioned shortly after, forcing the pilot to do an emergency landing only a few meters from the Kedarnath helipad.
Gaharwar commended the pilot for his fast thinking and composure, which helped avert a serious mishap. He remarked, "The pilot avoided a serious mishap by maintaining his composure and making a swift decision."
The pilgrims proceeded to the temple after ensuring the safety of all the passengers. He said, "More investigations are ongoing. The incident occurred around 7 am."
"Massive pilgrimage surge toward Chardham."
The first few days of the yatra have seen an unprecedented influx of pilgrims to the Himalayan shrines.
On Thursday, Radha Raturi, the chief secretary of Uttarakhand, asked pilgrims visiting Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Badrinath, and Gangotri to register and adhere to the scheduled dates in order to prevent any issues. The sites reopened for the pilgrimage following the winter break earlier this month.