Dehradun, June 16 -- A helicopter carrying pilgrims from Kedarnath crashed on Sunday morning, killing all seven people aboard, including a two-year-old girl, authorities said, as preliminary analysis showed the aircraft went down in treacherous weather in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand.

Sunday's tragedy was the fifth helicopter incident on the route in six weeks: three emergency landings and another crash have killed six people during this period. It also comes days after the country's worst air disaster in three decades that took place on Thursday when Air India flight 171 crashed shortly after take-off, leaving all but one of 242 passengers dead and claiming the lives of dozens more on the ground.

"The valley was covered in d...