New Delhi: Six people, including two pilots, died this morning after a helicopter carrying Kedarnath pilgrims crashed near Uttarakhand’s Garud Chatti.

The chopper, owned by Aryan Aviation Private Limited, was travelling back from Kedarnath when it crashed near Garud Chatti, the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) said.

According to a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official, the incident took place possibly due to bad weather.

Rescue operations and processes to identify the deceased are underway, the ITBP said.

Officials said that State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been rushed to the crash site, which is around 2-km from Kedarnath Dham, for the rescue operations. They added that the chopper crashed around 11.40 am.

In a tweet, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that they were in touch with the State Govt. to ascertain the magnitude of the loss and were constantly monitoring the situation.