23 Nov) Seven people, including a pilot, were killed on Monday when a helicopter ferrying pilgrims to the Vaishno Devi temple crashed near Katra in Jammu and Kashmir, police said. The helicopter was privately operated. Following the crash, helicopter services between Katra and Vaishno Devi have been suspended.
India Today reports that the helicopter landed barely meters away from a thickly populated locality, somewhere near the base camp in Katra. In October, over 2.7 lakh pilgrims visited and paid their obeisance at the holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi during Navaratras in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Finance Department, headed by Haseeb Drabu of the PDP, issued a notification on September 2, asking the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) to impose a 12.5 per cent service tax on pilgrims travelling by helicopter to and fro from Katra to Sanjhi Chhat. 5 dead in Helicopter crash near Katra(J&K), pilgrims were on their way to Sanji Chhat.
