What happened
On July 24, 2013, a Bell 407 helicopter, registration VT-TBE, was engaged in disaster relief operations in the Uttarakhand region. Following heavy rains and floods that had disrupted local infrastructure, the aircraft was performing shuttle flights between the Kedarnath Shrine Helipad and Guptkashi to transport relief supplies and personnel.
On the morning of the accident, the crew had been forced to take a night halt at Kedarnath due to poor weather conditions the previous day. As visibility began to improve, the pilot attempted to depart for Guptkashi. However, after passing Garud Chetti, the crew observed that the valley beyond Ram Bada was obscured by heavy clouds and poor visibility. While attempting to turn the aircraft back toward the Kedarnath helipad, the helicopter drifted to the left side of the valley and struck a dead cable running across the hillside. The impact caused the aircraft to crash, resulting in two fatalities (the pilot and one technician).