All six on board missing Helicopter in Uttarakhand declared dead, confirms UCADA

All six people aboard a helicopter, including five passengers and the pilot, were killed after the aircraft crashed into a hillside near Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s 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.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱

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.

𝗔𝗿𝗺𝘆, 𝗜𝗧𝗕𝗣 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗗𝗥𝗙 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

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.

𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱

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 40–50 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 Uttarakhand’s 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 Friday’s accident remain under examination, with further details expected from aviation authorities.