Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand)/Pune, June 15 (IANS) Even as India is yet to come to terms with Thursday’s devastating Air India aircraft crash in Ahmedabad that left all 242 passengers and crew members, save one, on the aeroplane and several people on the ground dead, the nation was rocked by two more tragedies in Uttarakhand and Maharashtra on Sunday.

Though the toll on Sunday – seven in a helicopter crash in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag and four in Maharashtra’s Pune so far, while several are missing, they come as a rude reminder of sudden mortality and lapses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who landed in Cyprus on the first stage of his three-nation tour, including to the G7 meeting in Canada, called up Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the incidents and express his grief.

In the helicopter tragedy, all seven people on board, including a 23-month-old infant and the pilot, lost their lives when the chopper, en route from Kedarnath Dham to Guptkashi, crashed early on Sunday in the Gaurikund area of Rudraprayag.

The chopper went down in a densely forested region near Gauri Mai Khark during its short 10-minute flight, crashing between Gaurikund and Sonprayag around 5:20 a.m.

According to a statement issued by the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA), the victims included six pilgrims — five adults and an infant — hailing from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.

The pilot was also among the deceased.

The incident has been attributed to poor visibility and adverse weather conditions, which officials say played a major role in the crash.

Rescue and relief operations were launched, with teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) making their way to the site to aid in recovery efforts. However, as the crash site is reported to be in a difficult-to-access forested area above Gauri Mai Khark, it further complicated rescue operations.

This marks the fifth aviation-related incident since the portals of the Kedarnath temple were opened on May 2.

On June 7, a separate helicopter developed a technical fault during take-off and was forced to make an emergency landing on the Rudraprayag-Gaurikund highway.

The tail rotor hit a parked car, and the helicopter came dangerously close to nearby buildings. Fortunately, all five pilgrims on board were unharmed, though the pilot sustained minor injuries.

In the Pune bridge collapse, at least four people were drowned, several others injured, while a total of 39 people were rescued after they fell into an overflowing river when sections of an old bridge came crashing down.

The bridge over the Indrayani River at Kundamala in Pune’s Maval taluka suddenly collapsed, sending the people plunging into the water and being swept away.

Visuals from the scene showed sections of the bridge, mostly directly over the waters, broken down and having fallen into the river while rescue personnel from various agencies worked to locate and rescue the victims.

A crane was pressed into service as efforts continue to remove parts of the collapsed structure amid rescue operations.

“…It (the bridge) collapsed while people were crossing it. Around 20–25 people were on the bridge at that time.. The families of the victims and a regular crowd have gathered at the site…” a rescue worker told IANS.

An eyewitness, who said that he was stuck on the bridge, told IANS that the structure “was already shaking, but still, people kept coming onto it. There were around 40 to 50 people…”

Vikas Nikam, a relative of Amol Ghule who was injured in the bridge collapse, told IANS: “He was on his way to the hospital, but the bridge collapsed while he was crossing it. The bridge was so weak that it gave way. He was coming to collect his wife’s MRI report, but met with an accident on the way…”

Chief Minister Fadnavis announced that the state government will provide financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who lost their lives in the bridge collapse, and also bear the cost for the medical treatment of the injured.

Raised water levels, due to heavy rains in the region, exacerbated the disaster. Maval has been recording heavy rains in the previous two days, causing the Indrayani River to be in spate.

Police, fire brigade, and NDRF teams rushed to the site and launched a rescue operation

Kundmala is a popular tourist destination that sees high footfall during monsoons. The footfall was higher as it was a Sunday.

–IANS

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