New Delhi: A defective helicopter being airlifted from Uttarakhand's Kedarnath to Gauchar by an MI-17 chopper accidentally fell from mid-air as the towing rope snapped this morning.

The helicopter, which was operated by a private company, crashed near the Mandakini River in Lincholi. An official said no one was injured in the accident, which was caught on camera.

"Today, the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) rescue team received information through police in Lincholi that a faulty helicopter of a private company, which was being towed by another helicopter from Shri Kedarnath helipad to Gochar helipad, fell into the river at Lincholi near Tharu Camp. The SDRF team has reached the spot and relief work is going on. There has been no loss of life in this incident," the news agency ANI quoted an official as saying.

The chopper was earlier involved in ferrying passengers to Kedarnath temple.

There has been a sharp drop in the number of pilgrims going to Kedarnath since July 31 due to extensive damage caused by heavy rain to the trek route to the Himalayan temple.

Rain-induced landslides along the route from Gaurikund to Kedarnath had left thousands of people stranded, prompting the administration to launch a massive rescue operation aided by the Air Force's Chinook and MI17 helicopters, besides private choppers.

Though the trek route had remained largely suspended in August, the pilgrims arrived at the temple on helicopters.

Chardham Yatra began this year on May 10 with the opening of the Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri temples for pilgrims. The portals of Badrinath opened on May 12.

More than 33 lakh pilgrims have so far visited the Himalayan temples.

Source: NDTV