All 6 aboard chopper from Badrinath killed after crash in Joshimath Valley

A helicopter carrying five passengers crashed in Badrinath in Uttarakhand hours after going missing, amid heavy rain and dense cloud cover.

In Short

• Helicopter with 6 onboard goes missing after takeoff from Badrinath
• Crash confirmed later near Joshimath valley in Uttarakhand
• All passengers were from Karnataka, bodies recovered after search

All five passengers and the pilot were killed on Friday afternoon after a helicopter carrying them from the temple town of Badrinath crashed in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, officials said.

A search and rescue operation was launched after reports of the crash emerged around 2.20 pm, more than an hour after the helicopter went missing. The bodies of all six occupants, including the pilot, were subsequently recovered.

All five passengers were from Karnataka and have been identified as Prathapa, Arun, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K and HS Natraja. Arun was a police inspector with the Bengaluru Police Crime Branch. Further details about the other passengers are yet to be released.

The pilot, Himanshu, who was operating the helicopter owned by private operator Trans Bharat Aviation, was from Delhi.

The cause of the crash has not been established so far. The region has been witnessing intense rainfall and cloud cover, with snowfall reported in some areas. However, Prateek Jain, CEO of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA), said the helicopter had been permitted to fly after favourable weather conditions were observed.

The helicopter had lost communication after around 1.30 pm while flying over the Joshimath valley and its tracking system also stopped transmitting.

As a precautionary measure, the entire fleet of Trans Bharat Aviation has been grounded, officials said.

BODIES RECOVERED AFTER SEARCH OP

Two additional helicopters and drones were deployed to locate the wreckage, while teams from the Indian Army, Chamoli district administration and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were also mobilised.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who confirmed the helicopter crash earlier, had said the district administration, Disaster Management Department and SDRF had launched rescue operations.

Dhami was monitoring the situation and had directed officials to ensure that seriously injured passengers were airlifted to higher medical centres for treatment. However, all six people on board were subsequently confirmed dead.

"I have received the unfortunate news of a helicopter crash near Chayi village, Joshimath. The district administration, Disaster Management Department and SDRF are jointly carrying out a rescue operation," he said in a post on X.

In a statement, the Chief Minister's Office said Dhami and Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Minister Madan Kaushik had taken immediate cognisance of the incident and directed the Disaster Management Secretary to launch relief and rescue operations without delay. Government agencies were mobilised to coordinate the response.

According to Police Sub-Inspector Manohar Kanyal, officials from UCADA had located the Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter near the Army Camp above Chayi village.

EARLIER EMERGENCY LANDINGS IN OCTOBER

The incident comes after two emergency landings involving Char Dham helicopters were reported in Uttarakhand earlier this month.

One helicopter made an emergency landing in Rudraprayag due to poor weather conditions, while another was forced to land in Tehri following a technical issue.

- Ends