A privately-run helicopter crashed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Trikuta hills, killing six Mata Vaishno Devi-bound pilgrims and the woman pilot on Monday, witnesses and police officials said.

The victims of the crash have been identified as Arjun Singh, Mahesh and Vandana from Jammu, Sachin, Akshita and Arunjit Singh from New Delhi and the pilot Sumeeta Vijayan from Hyderabad. Preliminary investigations by the police and aviation authorities revealed that a bird-hit downed the helicopter soon after take-off from Sanji Chhat helipad, tucked away in Trikuta hills. The copter instantly caught fire. It was returning to Katra, the base-camp of the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage.

Quoting witnesses, the police said that the pilot crashed while trying to land in an open space near the Katra bus terminus. She failed apparently because the tail rotor of the helicopter got damaged and went out of her control. J&K’s deputy chief minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, said, “A bird was found dead near crashed helicopter. It seems the helicopter collided with bird that led to crash. We’ll be inquiring further.” The single-engine helicopter, built in 2010, belonged to Himalayan Heli Services, which also runs copters for the Chardham Yatra. Initial reports had said that it crashed due to thick fog that engulfed most parts of the state in the morning and instantly caught fire. The fog disrupted air, rail and road transport services across the state on Monday.

Vijayan, a former Indian Air Force pilot had been with the HHS for a decade and was its chief pilot.