Uttarakhand crash: AAIB says helicopter tumbled down hill after rotor blade hit overhead cable
New Delhi (PTI): A preliminary probe into the helicopter crash that killed six people in Uttarakhand in May has found that the main rotor blade of the chopper struck an overhead fibre cable, before tumbling down the hillside and coming to rest against a tree.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said on Saturday that the investigation team is working on the further course of action to find the root cause of the accident.
The 17-year-old Bell 407 helicopter operated by Aerotrans Services Pvt Ltd, with six passengers onboard, crashed 24 minutes after being airborne on May 8.
The pilot and five passengers died in the accident, while one passenger sustained serious injuries.
AAIB said that the helicopter, which was airborne from Kharsali helipad at 8.11 am on May 8, was destroyed in the crash but there was no fire. The accident happened at Gangnani in Uttarkashi at 8.35 am.
In its five-page report, AAIB said the helicopter flew for 20 minutes before descending from its assigned altitude.
"Initially, the pilot attempted to land on the Uttarkashi-Gangotri Road (NH 34) near Gangnani in Uttarkashi. During the landing attempt, the helicopter's main rotor blade struck an overhead fibre cable running parallel to the road.
"It also damaged some roadside metallic barricades. However, the helicopter was unable to land and tumbled down the hillside. Eventually, it came to rest against a tree, approximately 250 feet deep in a gorge," it said.
The helicopter, powered by Rolls Royce engine, was manufactured in 2008.
The US National Transportation Safety Board and Canada's Transportation Safety Board have appointed accredited representatives and technical advisors for the investigation.
"The investigation team is coordinating with them for further course of action required to find out the root cause(s)," the report said.
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'Go back to your own country': Indian-origin taxi driver attacked in Dublin
London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.
Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.
Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".
"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.
"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.
A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.
"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.
The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.
"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.
“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.
It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.
The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.
“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.
A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.
Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.
The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.
His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.
“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.
Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.
“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.
Another violent anti-Indian attack in Ireland
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) August 5, 2025
Taxi driver Lakhvir Singh was attacked with glass bottles while doing his job pic.twitter.com/mtkwhLWISx
