All six aboard Badrinath-Dehradun helicopter killed in crash near Joshimath

All six people, including the pilot, aboard the helicopter that crashed near Joshimath have died, Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) Chief Executive Officer Prateek Jain told ANI on Friday (Oct 30). The aircraft had gone missing earlier in the day while it was travelling from Badrinath to Dehradun.

Helicopter went missing near Joshimath

According to the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority, the helicopter lost communication when it was flying over the Joshimath valley. The tracking system could no longer track the helicopter. Two teams comprising police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Army personnel were deployed from Pandukeshwar and Joshimath to search for the missing aircraft.

“A helicopter belonging to Trans Bharat Aviation took off from the Badrinath civil helipad, bound for the Sahastradhara helipad, today, October 30, at approximately 1:12 pm. At 1:14 pm, its transmission link with the radar was lost near Joshimath,” Chamoli Superintendent of Police (SP) Surjeet Singh Panwar said earlier.

He added that the helicopter was spotted heading into the valley, about a kilometre above the Bhandakand Temple near Pandukeshwar, by personnel at a nearby Army post.

“We have dispatched two teams—one from the direction of Pandukeshwar and the other from Joshimath—comprising police, SDRF, and Army personnel. Search and rescue operations are currently underway,” Panwar said.

What we know about people on board

According to Panwar, the helicopter was carrying five passengers from Karnataka and a pilot, Himanshu Sabharwal from Delhi.

“The helicopter was carrying a pilot, Himanshu Sabharwal from Delhi, along with five passengers from Karnataka. A comprehensive search is being conducted. A drone has also been deployed from Gopeshwar to assist in the search and rescue efforts. We will provide updates as soon as any preliminary information becomes available,” he said earlier.