All six people aboard a helicopter, including five passengers and the pilot, were killed after the aircraft crashed into a hillside near Joshimath in Uttarakhandโs Chamoli district on Friday afternoon amid adverse weather conditions. Rescue teams recovered the bodies from the remote crash site following a search operation involving the Army, disaster response personnel and local authorities.
The helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt Ltd, was travelling from Badrinath to Sahastradhara in Dehradun when it lost communication over the Joshimath valley. The aircraft, bearing registration number VT-HCX, had taken off at approximately 1.14 pm, according to the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA).
Officials said the helicopter crashed near Chayee village in the Jyotirmath area. Its tracking system stopped transmitting signals around the time communication was lost, prompting authorities to launch a search across the mountainous region.
๐๐น๐น ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ
The pilot was identified as Captain Himanshu Sabharwal, while the five passengers were identified as Arun Salunke, H S Nagaraja, Prathapa Bachihally Ningarajan, Sudheer K and Shankargowda V B. Preliminary reports indicated that the passengers were from Bengaluru.
Officials confirmed that the bodies of all six occupants had been recovered by Friday evening. Rescue personnel were working to transport them from the difficult mountainous terrain to the nearest motorable road.
The district administration had received information about the incident around 2.14 pm, according to Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman.
Reports of smoke rising from the area near Chayee village helped authorities narrow down the suspected location. An Army signal team also reportedly observed smoke and the aircraft descending rapidly before the crash.
๐๐ฟ๐บ๐, ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Following the incident, personnel from the Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Uttarakhand Police and the district administration were mobilised.
Two helicopters were deployed for aerial reconnaissance and recovery operations, while another SDRF team was dispatched from Sahastradhara to assist personnel operating near the crash site.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said he was personally monitoring the situation and had directed officials to provide immediate assistance to those affected.
The Chief Minister said a joint operation involving the district administration, disaster management department and SDRF had been launched soon after information about the crash was received.
๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟโ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ
UCADA ordered the grounding of the entire fleet operated by Trans Bharat Aviation as a precautionary measure following the accident.
The crash occurred amid deteriorating weather conditions in the region. The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for Chamoli district, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, hail and gusty winds reaching 40โ50 kmph in isolated areas.
Rain and snowfall had also been forecast along the Badrinath-Joshimath route. However, authorities have not yet established whether adverse weather was the direct cause of the accident.
The incident has renewed concerns over helicopter operations in Uttarakhandโs mountainous terrain, particularly along pilgrimage routes where sudden changes in weather can pose significant risks to aviation.
In June 2025, seven people were killed when a helicopter travelling from Kedarnath towards Guptkashi crashed in a forested area of the state. The circumstances surrounding Fridayโs accident remain under examination, with further details expected from aviation authorities.