A bird is reported to have hit the tail rotor shortly after take-off. While the pilot was trying to make an emergency landing, the helicopter hit power lines, crashed and caught fire. The helicopter was ferrying pilgrims to the Vaishno Devi temple. The seven fatalities were named as pilot Sumita Vijayn from Kerala, Arjun Singh, Mahesh and Vandana from Jammu, Sachin, Akshita (5) and Aaryanjeet from Delhi.