New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Sunday expressed grief over the crash of a helicopter near the forested area of Gaurikund in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district.

In a post on social media X, the Minister called the incident 'horrific and tragic.'

He also expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.

'The helicopter crash near Gaurikund on the Kedarnath Yatra route is a horrific and tragic incident.

After this accident, rescue work has been started on a war footing by the Uttarakhand administration and the NDRF. #DGCA and #AAIB are starting the investigation of this accident soon.

Some devotees have died in this accident. May their souls attain salvation and may their families get the strength to overcome this sorrow. This is my prayer at the feet of Baba Kedarnath!' the post read.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also called the accident 'unfortunate' and stated that all relevant authorities had been instructed to provide necessary assistance to the family.

'The Yavatmal Disaster Management Cell has received information that three devotees of the Jaiswal family from Wani in Yavatmal district died in a helicopter accident at Gaurikund while en route to Kedarnath. This accident is unfortunate and tragic and instructions have been given to the relevant authorities to provide all necessary assistance to the family. I share the grief of the Jaiswal family and the government is with us. My humble tributes to the devotees who died in this accident,' Shinde's post read.

Earlier this morning, seven people, including the pilot on board a helicopter were killed after the chopper crashed near the forested area of Gaurikund in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said.

The Aryan Aviation Helicopter was flying to Guptkashi from the Kedarnath Dham when it crashed at 5:30 am today.

The deceased have been identified as Captain Rajbir Singh Chauhan (39), resident of Jaipur, Vikram Rawat (47) a Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee representative and resident of Rasi, Vinod Devi (66), resident of Uttar Pradesh, Trishti Singh (19), resident of Uttar Pradesh, Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal (41), resident of Gujarat, Shraddha Rajkumar Jaiswal and Kashi (2), resident of Maharashtra.

Rescue teams were immediately dispatched under the direction of SDRF Commander Arpan Yadav. The incident spot was located in a very inaccessible and dense forest area, where a fast-paced and coordinated rescue operation was carried out by the joint teams of SDRF, NDRF, and local police.

Rescue teams worked in inclement weather to retrieve the bodies of the deceased.(ANI)