Pilot, five pilgrims killed as helicopter returning from Badrinath crashes

All six people on board a civilian helicopter, including the pilot, were killed after it crashed near Hathi Parvat in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Friday afternoon, with the state government grounding the entire fleet of the operator, Trans Bharat Aviation, as a precautionary measure.

The helicopter, carrying five passengers and a pilot, was travelling from Shri Badrinath Dham towards the Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun when it crashed near Sthan Marwadi, close to Hathi Parvat in Joshimath tehsil, at around 2 pm.

The deceased have been identified as Arun Salunke, a police inspector with the technical cell of the Bengaluru CCB; Prathapa Bachihally Ningaraju, a businessman from Hassan with links to the Congress; advocates Sudheer K and Shankargowda VB; and H S Nataraj from Tumakuru.

Suman said an Army Signal Centre team spotted smoke rising from the helicopter in the area and saw it rapidly descending.

Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar confirmed the deaths.

The incident came amid adverse weather conditions in the region.

The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for Chamoli on October 30, warning of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph in isolated areas. It had also forecast light to moderate rainfall across the district.

The precise circumstances that led to the crash are under investigation.

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According to the Action Taken Report by the Chamoli district administration in Uttarakhand, the helicopter took off from the Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun and was headed towards Badrinath Dham.

While returning, it encountered “adverse weather conditions in the Hathi Parvat area and crashed while descending towards a lower altitude”.

Wreckage of the helicopter in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, on Friday. (ANI)

The Army team reached the accident site and located all six bodies. However, dense forest cover and wildlife activity in the surrounding area posed challenges to the recovery operation. The search and rescue operation is scheduled to resume at 5 am on Saturday, the report said.

Secretary, Disaster Management and Rehabilitation, Vinod Kumar Suman, said the Chamoli District Disaster Management Officer first informed authorities around 2 pm that the civilian helicopter had met with an accident.

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Suman said an Army Signal Centre team spotted smoke rising from the helicopter in the area and saw it rapidly descending.

Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) Chief Executive Officer Prateek Jain said, “The helicopter departed from Badrinath for the Sahastradhara heliport at 1:14 pm. We were unable to trace the helicopter’s location since it was passing through the vicinity of the Joshimath valley. Upon receiving this information, we mobilised the Chamoli district administration, the SDRF (State Disaster Response Force), and an Army unit to the area near the incident site to prepare for a proper rescue operation. As a precautionary measure, the entire fleet of helicopters belonging to Trans Bharat Aviation has been grounded.”

Friends of the five deceased told The Indian Express that the group shared a close bond and had planned the Char Dham pilgrimage together.

Mahesh, a cooperative society secretary in Tumakuru, said he was friends with Shankargowda and H S Nataraj and had also been invited to join the trip, but couldn’t because of work.

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He said the group regularly shared photographs and updates on social media during their trips.

However, this time, they had not posted any such updates. He said the families are awaiting further details.