7 dead in India's chopper crash

NEW DELHI -- Seven people, including two children, the pilot and four male passengers, were dead in the private chopper crash in India's northern hilly state of Uttarakhand early on Sunday, a senior state government official said.

The chopper, which belonged to the private company Aryan Aviation, was flying from Kedarnath, a famous pilgrimage spot for the Hindu community, to Guptkashi area.

Kedarnath-Guptkashi is a seven-kilometre stretch located in the jungles. TV reports showed smoke emitting from the debris of the crashed chopper.

Vinay Shankar Pandey, the official, said, "As per preliminary reports and the eyewitnesses' account, there is no hope of any survivors in the crash."

He added that teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force had been deployed to the crash site.