Kedarnath Dham-bound private helicopter makes emergency landing in Guptkashi, all passengers safe | WATCH

A private helicopter had to make an emergency landing in Guptkashi of Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district due to a technical fault, police said on Saturday.

All the passengers on board the helicopter, en route to Kedarnath Dham, are safe, Uttarakhand ADG Law and Order Dr V Murugeshan said.

Watch the video of the helicopter here:

The CEO of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority has revealed that the helicopter in question belongs to Crestel Aviation Private Limited.

The helicopter, which was flying from Sirsi with passengers, made a precautionary landing on the road instead of the helipad.

No casualty has been reported so far and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been informed, the CEO said.

The rest of the shuttle operations are going on normally as per schedule.

Meanwhile, the road which was blocked near Barasu has been made operational for traffic, Rudraprayag police said in a post on X.

DGCA issues statement

The DGCA has issued a statement regarding the details of the incident, saying that Captain RPS Sodhi had made a hard landing on the road adjacent to the Bharasu helipad.

“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,” he said. 

The pilot has been taken to the hospital for evaluation due to complaints of back pain.

“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,” the DGCA said.

For the year 2025, the doors of Baba Kedarnath Dham were opened for the devotees on May 2. One month has passed since the doors of Baba were opened. On Sunday, June 1, the number of devotees visiting Baba Kedarnath Dham has crossed 7 lakh. 

IAF Apache helicopter makes emergency landing

In a separate incident on June 6, Apache helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) made a "precautionary landing" in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, officials said.

The emergency landing needed to be made due to a technical issue while on a routine sortie, they said.

Both the pilot and the co-pilot are safe, they said.

An IAF Apache helicopter made a "precautionary landing" in Saharanpur around 11 am due to a technical issue, a senior IAF official said.

All necessary checks were conducted after the landing and the helicopter was made serviceable. Both the pilot and the co-pilot then flew it to the Sarsawa airbase in Uttar Pradesh, the official said.

(This is a developing story. Check back for updates)