LUCKNOW, India >> A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed on Sunday in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing seven people on board, officials said.

The helicopter was headed to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town when it crashed minutes after taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight.

Nandan Singh Rajwar, a local disaster management official, said authorities have launched a rescue and search operation following the helicopter crash.

The helicopter, operated by Aryan Aviation, went down in a forested area near the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5:30 a.m. local time.

— The Associated Press