*Kedarnath: *A helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed after it hit aniron girder while trying to land at a helipad near Kedarnath temple inUttarakhand today. All passengers are safe and only faced minor injuries,reports news agency ANI. The agency had earlier said that one person haddied in the accident, but later corrected their report.
ANI now confirms that all passengers have been evacuated safely, and thoseinjured are getting the necessary medical treatment.
Four people including the IAF pilot suffered injuries; they are out ofdanger, rescuers said. The helicopter was carrying eight people — sixpassengers, the co-pilot and the pilot. The IAF’s Russian-origin transporthelicopter Mi-17 V5 caught fire after it collided with an iron girder.
The IAF’s Mi-17 helicopter that crash-landed near Kedarnath in UttarakhandThe fire was brought under control, though smoke continued to billow forsome time from the engine compartment of the helicopter that came to reston its side after the crash-landing.
The air force has launched an investigation to find out what caused thehelicopter to collide with the iron girder that led to the crash landing.
“Today morning one Mi-17 V5 helicopter of IAF crashed near Kedarnath(Uttarakhand)… A Court of Inquiry will ascertain the cause of theaccident,” the IAF said in a statement.
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