Uttarakhand: Helicopter with Kedarnath pilgrims makes emergency landing on highway in Rudraprayag, pilot injured

Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand) [India], June 7 (ANI): A helicopter carrying five devotees en route to Kedarnath Dham made an emergency landing on a national highway near Bharasu in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district on Saturday, temporarily disrupting traffic in the region, officials said.
According to officials, the chopper - an AW119 operated by Kestrel Aviation Private Limited - developed a sudden technical fault during takeoff, prompting the pilot to carry out a hard but controlled landing on the nearby road.
The incident occurred when the helicopter, piloted by Captain RPS Sodhi, took off from the Bharasu helipad with five pilgrims on board.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the pilot suspected a malfunction in the collective control -- a critical component for vertical lift -- and immediately initiated an emergency landing protocol.
"All five passengers on board were evacuated safely without injuries. The pilot, however, sustained minor back injuries during the hard landing and was taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention," the DGCA said in a statement.
It added, "Kestrel Aviation's AW119 helicopter, piloted by Captain RPS Sodhi, experienced a hard landing on the road adjacent to the Bharasu helipad earlier today. As per initial inputs, shortly after takeoff from the helipad, the pilot reported a suspected issue with the collective control getting stuck. In response, he executed a controlled force landing on the road near the helipad. All passengers are safe and unharmed. The pilot has been taken to the hospital for evaluation due to complaints of back pain."
A parked car was damaged during the emergency landing, though the incident had no impact on the heli-shuttle services.
Rudraprayag's District Tourism Development Officer and Heli Service Nodal Officer Rahul Chaubey said, "Today, on 7th June, around 1 pm, Kestrel Aviation's helicopter developed a technical fault while taking off from Bharasu. Following this, it landed on our national highway. There were five passengers and one pilot onboard. The pilot was injured while the five passengers are all safe."
The emergency landing led to a temporary shutdown of traffic on both sides of the highway near Badasu, a key access route for pilgrims heading to Kedarnath. Authorities have since deployed teams to safely remove the helicopter from the road and restore vehicular movement.
In a post on X, the Rudraprayag Police urged devotees to stay at their current locations until the route was cleared. "Due to a hard landing of a helicopter on NH near Badasu in Rudraprayag district, traffic was completely disrupted on both ends of the said place. Devotees coming to visit Shri Kedarnath Dham are requested to stay near where they are at the moment," the police said.
An investigation into the technical glitch was also underway. (ANI)