Rudraprayag, June 7 -- A helicopter carrying five devotees en route to Kedarnath Dham made an emergency landing on a national highway near Bharasu in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district on Saturday, temporarily disrupting traffic in the region, officials said.

According to officials, the chopper - an AW119 operated by Kestrel Aviation Private Limited - developed a sudden technical fault during takeoff, prompting the pilot to carry out a hard but controlled landing on the nearby road.

The incident occurred when the helicopter, piloted by Captain RPS Sodhi, took off from the Bharasu helipad with five pilgrims on board.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the pilot suspected a malfunction in the collective contro...