Highlights
- “His last call to us was yesterday (Monday). My daughter is not keeping well. He told me to take care of her,” Anandita, who is a film writer, told PTI over the phone.
- The 57-year-old lived in a posh housing society in the Andheri suburb of Mumbai and is survived by his wife Shireen Anandita and daughter Firoza Singh.
In a tragic incident, a helicopter, which was ferrying pilgrims from the Kedarnath temple to Guptkashi, crashed close to Garud Chatti and Jungle Chatti on Tuesday, killing all seven people on board.
Pilot’s last call
The pilot of the ill-fated helicopter, Anil Singh, also died in the crash. “Take care of my daughter. She is unwell,” were Anil Singh’s last words when he spoke to his wife on Monday. The 57-year-old lived in a posh housing society in the Andheri suburb of Mumbai and is survived by his wife Shireen Anandita and daughter Firoza Singh.
At around 11:45 am at Dev Darshini in Garud Chatti, the six-seater helicopter operated by Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd — Bell 407 (VT-RPN) — was ferrying pilgrims from Kedarnath temple to Guptkashi when it crashed into a hill due to poor visibility, said Nandan Singh, the Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer.
The daughter will perform the last rites
Anandita said she and her daughter will be leaving for New Delhi to perform the last rites of her husband. “His last call to us was yesterday (Monday). My daughter is not keeping well. He told me to take care of her,” Anandita, who is a film writer, told PTI over the phone.
Originally a resident of East Delhi’s Shahadra locality, Singh was living in Mumbai for the last 15 years.
The wife has no “complaint against anyone”
Earlier in the day, an official from the Uttarakhand police confirmed that the pilot killed in the crash, Singh, hailed from Mumbai. Anandita, however, said she had no “complaint against anyone as an accident is an accident”. Moreover, the hill state always experiences inclement weather, she said.
