Six Killed as Helicopter Crashes Near Joshimath in Uttarakhand

An Uttarakhand helicopter crash in northern India killed all six people on board on Friday, 30 October, after the aircraft went down on a hillside near Joshimath, police said. The privately operated helicopter was flying from the pilgrimage town of Badrinath to Dehradun when it crashed in the Chamoli district of the Himalayan state.

FAKTA

• What happened: A Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter crashed into a hillside near Joshimath, in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, on Friday, 30 October.
• People on board: Six — the pilot and five passengers. All six died, police said.
• Route: From Badrinath to the Sahastradhara heliport in Dehradun. The aircraft carried the call sign VT-HCX.
• Crash site: A hillside near the JP Power House, by Marwari Bridge, above Chai village in the Joshimath area.
• Bodies: Found at the crash site, police said; rescue and recovery teams were dispatched to the site.
• Operator’s fleet: Grounded as a precautionary measure by the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority.
• Cause: Not yet established.

Uttarakhand helicopter crash: what happened

The helicopter took off from the Badrinath civil helipad at about 1:15 pm local time on Friday, bound for Sahastradhara in Dehradun, according to the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority. The authority said the aircraft lost communication and tracking while it was flying over the Joshimath valley.

Officials said the helicopter crashed into a hillside near the JP Power House, close to Marwari Bridge, at around 2:20 pm — about an hour after take-off. The wreckage was located above Chai village, near Joshimath, in Chamoli district, about 290 kilometres north-east of Dehradun.

Reports described overcast skies with rain and snowfall in the area at the time. The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for Chamoli for 30 October, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, hailstorms and gusty winds. The exact cause of the crash has not yet been established, and officials have not linked it to the weather.

Who was on board

The pilot was identified as Captain Himanshu Sabharwal. The five passengers were identified as Prathapa, Arun, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K and H S Natraja. Police said all five passengers were from Bengaluru.

Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar confirmed that all six people on board had died and that their bodies had been found at the crash site.

Rescue operation and fleet grounded

Teams from the Chamoli district administration, police, the State Disaster Response Force, the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police were dispatched to the crash site for relief and rescue operations. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said he was monitoring the situation closely and had issued instructions for the rescue operation.

The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority said that, as a precautionary measure, the entire fleet of Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt. Ltd. had been grounded following the crash.

A route under scrutiny

The Badrinath–Dehradun route is one of the helicopter services used by pilgrims and travellers in Uttarakhand’s mountain region, where flights operate in difficult terrain and changeable weather. Following Friday’s crash, senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat called for a formal inquiry into the pattern of helicopter accidents in the region.

Authorities have not yet announced the findings of any investigation into Friday’s crash. Further details are expected as rescue and recovery work at the site continues. More international news can be found in Watan News’ World section.