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Close shave for 6 Vaishno Devi pilgrims as copter makes emergency landing
Tribune News Service

Katra/Jammu, December 30
Seven persons, including the pilot, were injured when a Pawan Hans helicopter carrying Vaishno Devi pilgrims made an emergency landing in a village in Trikuta hills in Reasi district today. A technical snag is said to be the reason behind the emergency landing.

The helicopter, with six pilgrims on board, was on way to Sanjichhat from the Katra helipad (flight number 19). It made an emergency landing at Salal-Dabri village after the pilot detected a technical snag, said Inspector General of Police Dilbagh Singh.

During the emergency landing, the helicopter tilted on one side due to non-availability of enough space, resulting in injuries to seven persons, the IG said.

The injured have been identified as Anita Puri, Arti Puri, Chetan Kumar, Arun Kumar, Mikashi, Raj Rani, all resident of New Delhi, and pilot Col Amarjeet Singh Parmar.

“Soon after the take-of, we were told that a technical fault had occurred in the engine and that we should be prepared for a precautionary landing,” Anita Puri said.

Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, has directed Chief Executive Officer of the board Navin K Choudhary to ensure best medical treatment and other assistance to the passengers and their families at the board’s expense.

Deputy CEO of the shrine board Rahul Sharma and Medical Superintendent Vinod Gupta have been deputed to supervise the medical treatment of the passengers.

The shrine board CEO has also written to the Director General Civil Aviation to take immediate cognisance of the incident and commence a time-bound inquiry.