Toddler among seven killed in India chopper crash

DEHRADUN, India: Seven people including a toddler were killed Sunday in India when a helicopter ferrying Hindu pilgrims from a shrine crashed in the Himalayas, officials said.

The fatal accident comes as relatives mourn at least 279 people killed when a passenger plane slammed into a residential area in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday.

The helicopter crash left the pilot and all six passengers dead when their chopper came down during the flight from Kedarnath temple, in Uttarakhand state, disaster response official Nandan Singh Rajwar told AFP.

The state’s chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said rescue teams had been dispatched to the scene after the “very sad news”.

The crash was likely caused by bad weather, according to district tourism official Rahul Chaubey.

Pilgrims flock to Kedarnath temple during the summer when it is possible to access the site, which stands at an altitude of 3,584 metres (11,759 feet).

A cottage industry of helicopter charter firms has developed to serve wealthy pilgrims who want to visit shrines in the Indian Himalayas, but who prefer to avoid arduous trekking.

Six people were killed last month in another helicopter crash en route to the shrine.