• Source:JND
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Kedarnath Helicopter Crash: A Helicopter bound for Guptkashi from Kedarnath crashed in the early morning of Sunday, killing all 7 on board, including a Maharashtra family and an ex-army pilot. 41-year-old, renowned coal businessman, Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal, along with his wife, Shraddha Jaiswal, and their 23-month-old daughter, Kashi Rajkumar Jaiswal, were in Uttarakhand to visit Kedarnath and were returning from Kedarnath to Guptkashi when their helicopter crashed, and they succumbed to the deadly accident. 

The deadly incident occurred near Gaurikund on Sunday morning, when an Aryan Aviation Bell 407 Helicopter crashed. The helicopter covered the journey from Guptkashi to Kedarnath from 5:10 am to 5:18 am and took off from Kedarnath only a minute after to reach Guptkashi, but crashed midway near Gaurikund due to the deteriorating weather conditions. The Pilot tried to fly the chopper out of the valley, but eventually it crashed. 

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Those killed in the chopper have been identified as Vikram Rawat (47), a Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) employee; Vinod Devi (66), Trishti Singh (19), both residents of Uttar Pradesh and the Jaiswal family from Maharashtra's Yavatmal and Captain Rajbir Singh Chauhan (39), resident of Jaipur. 

Only a son is left in the Jaiswal family as he stayed back, and the other 3 members of the family went to the religious site. Captain Rajbir Singh Chauhan recently became a father of twins, NDTV reported, quoting sources.

The bodies are beyond recognisable, as they were charred to death. DNA matching will take place before handing the bodies over to the families, said Inspector General Rajiv Swaroop. 

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The helicopter services will not operate for two days, including today and tomorrow. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, speaking to the news agency ANI. "These services will remain closed until the safety of the passengers is ensured. Life of every passenger is of utmost importance to us," he said.

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