Helicopter carrying 5 Badrinath pilgrims crashes near Joshimath

A helicopter carrying 5 passengers has crashed near Joshimath. It took off from Badrinath at 2:15 PM for Dehradun, amidst heavy snowfall when the incident happened. A search operation by the joint team of disaster management department and SDRF is underway.

“We have received the unfortunate news of a helicopter crash near Chaien village, close to Joshimath. A joint rescue operation is being conducted by the district administration, disaster management department, and SDRF. I am continuously monitoring the entire incident. Instructions have been given to immediately airlift the seriously injured to higher centres for better treatment,” wrote Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on X.

According to Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority, the helicopter lost communication when it was flying over Joshimath valley. At the same time, the tracking system could no longer track the helicopter, and its current location is yet to be identified.

As a precautionary measure, the entire fleet of Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt. Ltd the compnay whose chopper has been inovlved in the cras has been grounded.
Details of persons on board (Pilot + 5)
1. Capt. Himanshu
Passengers:
1. Prathapa (Male)
2. Arun (Male)
3. Shankar Gowda (Male)
4. Sudheer K (Male)
5. H.S. Natraja (Male)

(This is a developing story)