*Another Plan crash in India seven people killed* Also Read: *Air India plane crash death toll rises to 270* ©Zoomic Media https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaD22E27YScxhpM8Re26 Seven people have died in a helicopter crash in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials have said. According to local media reports, the aircraft was flying from Kedarnath along a popular Hindu pilgrimage route in the Himalayan mountains. It is understood that rescue teams were immediately dispatched and an operation to retrieve the bodies has been carried out with local police. The pilot and a two-year-old child were among those killed, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said, adding that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate the crash. Advertisement India's Ministry of Civil Aviation said the Aryan Aviation Bell 407 helicopter VT-BKA, took off on Sunday just after 05:15 local time. Five passengers, one child and one crew member were on board the flight bound for Guptkashi - another popular town for pilgrims. "At around 05:00, we got the information that a helicopter, which was going from Shri Kedarnath Dham, could not be located," the CEO of Uttarakhand's Civil Aviation Department said. It was then discovered that the helicopter had crashed near Gaurikund. In a post on X, the state's chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, described the incident as "very sad news", adding that the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local administration and other rescue teams were engaged in relief and rescue operations. Dhami confirmed he had ordered an inquiry into the cause of the crash. The state's director-general of information, Bansidhar Tripathi, said there had been "three emergency landings and two helicopter crashes in the past month and a half" along the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage route. A meeting between senior officials in the wake of the crash ordered helicopter services for the route be completely closed until Monday. Helicopter services would only resume after a meeting with all operators had been carried out and the flying experience of all pilots in the high Himalayan regions had been checked, Dhami said in a statement. He also ordered a strict Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for helicopter services in the state to establish a common command and coordination centre in the state's capital of Dehradun for better coordination and safer operation. "The negligence at whatever level has been committed will be identified and punitive action will be ensured," Dhami said. He added that the District Administration for Rudraprayag was also instructed to contact the families of the people who lost their lives in the accident and make proper arrangements to send their bodies to the respective states. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the four Hindu pilgrimage sites - Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath - along the Himalayan mountains every year. This has led to an industry of helicopter charter firms developing to serve wealthy pilgrims who want to visit the shrines but avoid arduous trekking. _______ *Air India plane crash death toll rises to 270* People hold candles as they attend a vigil for the victims of an Air India plane crash in New Delhi Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of Thursday's plane crash in Ahmedabad. The London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew members, a 40-year-old British man. Officials have also been trying to establish how many people were killed on the ground and have been continuing the slow process of matching DNA samples to confirm the victims' identities. Vigils honouring the dead have taken place across India and the UK. About 100 people gathered outside the High Commission of India in London on Sunday, with many laying candles in memory of those who died in the crash. One community leader said they had been in touch with a family who had flown to India to identify the remains of their loved ones and were waiting in hospital for the results of DNA matching. Many people at the gathering want answers on how and why the incident could have happened, the community leader said. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the inquiry into the cause of the crash, helped by teams from the US and UK. On Friday, a black box was found at the site of the crash which India's civil aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, said would "significantly aid the inquiry" into the disaster. Less than 60 seconds after leaving Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, the plane lost altitude and crashed into a building that was used as doctors' accommodation at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital. On Saturday, the President of the Junior Doctors' Association of the college, Dr Dhaval Gameti, confirmed the hospital had received the bodies of 270 victims. Of those, 241 are believed to be passengers and crew of Flight AI171. More than thirty victims have also been formally identified using DNA samples provided by relatives. According to data by tracking website, Flightradar24, the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 was 11 years old and had operated 25 flights from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick in the past two years. In response to Thursday's crash, India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), ordered additional safety checks on Air India's Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet, describing it as a "preventive measure". India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent around 20 minutes walking around the site of the plane crash on Friday. He also visited the hospital to meet some of those injured in the disaster, including the sole plane survivor Vishwashkumar Ramesh, later saying that "the entire nation is praying for their speedy recovery". Air India CEO Campbell Wilson also went to the crash site on Friday and described the visit as "deeply moving". ....