Uttarakhand official on Kedarnath inspection beheaded by copter blade

DEHRADHUN: The finance controller of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA), Amit Saini, was killed after being hit by a helicopter’s tail rotor blade while he was in the process of boarding the chopper on Sunday afternoon at Kedarnath.
The incident occurred at the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) helipad at 2:15pm, N K Rajwar, district disaster management officer of Rudraprayag district, said.
Saini, a 2017-batch state finance service officer, had gone to Kedarnath from Dehradun with other officials on Sunday morning for audit and inspection-related work, ahead of the yatra to Kedarnath, which begins on April 25.
The accident occurred when the official, after the completion of the work, was headed back to Dehradun. He was trying to board the helicopter, operated by Kestrel Aviation company, when he was struck by the chopper blades, a senior police official said.
“He came on the wrong side of the chopper, upon which he was asked by the pilot to board from the other side. Instead of going from the front of the helicopter as is the protocol, he went from behind to reach the other side and came directly in the range of the tail rotors,” said Vishakha Ashok Bhadane, superintendent of police (SP), Rudraprayag.
She further said that Saini died on the spot after sustaining severe neck injuries and his body was sent to Dehradun on Sunday late afternoon.
The official is survived by his wife and two children. Chief executive office (CEO) of UCADA C Ravishankar was also at Kedarnath when the accident took place.
Meanwhile, reacting to the incident, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the death and ordered an enquiry to find out the exact reason behind the incident. The CM also directed the officials to ensure that all safety protocols are followed while boarding and getting down from choppers during the Char Dham yatra.