Badrinath helicopter crash: A look at 10 chopper mishaps in Uttarakhand over the years

The latest crash adds to a series of helicopter-related mishaps reported in Uttarakhand over the years.

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A helicopter carrying six people, including the pilot, crashed in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Friday while flying from Badrinath to Dehradun.

The chopper, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt Ltd, was reportedly flying in adverse weather conditions when it lost communication while passing over the Joshimath valley. Its tracking system also stopped transmitting its location, prompting search and rescue teams from the Indian Army, district administration and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to be deployed.

The crash adds to a series of helicopter-related mishaps reported in Uttarakhand over the years.

Several of these incidents have involved helicopters ferrying pilgrims to religious shrines, particularly Kedarnath, with crashes and emergency landings reported during the annual pilgrimage season.

Also Read | Helicopter lost communication, tracking over Joshimath valley, moments before crash

Deadly crashes on Kedarnath pilgrimage route

On June 15 last year, seven people were killed after a chopper carrying six people from Kedarnath to Guptkashi crashed near Gaurikund in Rudraprayag district. On June 7 last year, a private chopper carrying five pilgrims to the Kedarnath shrine made a crash landing on the Guptkashi-Gaurikund highway near Barasu in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district.

On May 8 last year, six people were killed after a helicopter en route to Gangotri Dham crashed in the Gangnani area of Uttarkashi district. Five days later, on May 12, a helicopter blade struck a vehicle at the Badrinath helipad, narrowly averting a major accident. On May 17, a heli ambulance from AIIMS Rishikesh that had gone to airlift a patient suffering from respiratory distress at the Kedarnath shrine made a crash landing near the Kedarnath helipad.

Also Read | Helicopter crashes near Joshimath after taking off from Badrinath with 5 pilgrims, search and rescue on

Fatal chopper accidents in Kedarnath

In April 2023, a senior official of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) died after being hit by the tail rotor of a helicopter in Kedarnath. In October 2022, a chopper crashed in Kedarnath, killing all six devotees and a pilot on board. In April 2018, one person was killed and three others injured when an Indian Air Force (IAF) cargo helicopter caught fire while landing in Uttarakhand's Kedarnath.

In June 2013, three choppers crashed while conducting rescue operations during the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy. As many as 23 people, including Air Force personnel, were killed in the crashes. In July 2013, the pilot and co-pilot of a private chopper were killed when it crashed minutes after taking off from flood-hit Kedarnath.

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  Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More