‘Often travelled together’: Friends recall bond shared by 5 Uttarakhand chopper crash victims

FIVE FRIENDS from Karnataka, including a police inspector posted with the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bengaluru, were among the six people killed in the helicopter crash in Chamoli district on Friday. The sixth victim was the pilot, Capt. Himanshu, from Delhi.

The five victims from Karnataka have been identified as inspector Arun Salunke, Prathapa Bachihally Ningaraju, a businessman from Hassan with links to the Congress, Sudheer K and Shankargowda VB, advocates from Bengaluru and H S Nataraj, from Tumakuru. They were part of a group of friends who had travelled to Uttarakhand for the Char Dham pilgrimage.

According to a press release issued by the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority, the civil helicopter operated by Trans Bharat Aviation and carrying the five passengers crashed around 2 pm in the hilly terrain of the Hathi Parvat area while flying from Badrinath to Dehradun.

SDRF and other security personnel conduct a search and rescue operation at the crash site on Friday.(PTI Photo)

Uttarakhand disaster management authorities immediately mobilised teams from the Army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), police, health department and district disaster management authorities to carry out search and rescue operations. “The rescue teams recovered the mortal remains of all six persons, including the pilot. The mortal remains are being brought to Joshimath for post-mortem examination,” the press release said.

The Karnataka Chief Minister’s Office and the Relief Commissioner are coordinating with their counterparts in Uttarakhand to facilitate the transportation of the bodies to Karnataka at the earliest.

Friends of the five victims 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. He said he declined due to work commitments. “They left three days ago. I was expecting them to return tomorrow (Saturday). I spoke to Shankargowda yesterday (Thursday). He told me he was busy with some work and that we would speak once he returned,” Mahesh said.

He said the group regularly shared photographs and updates on social media during their trips. However, this time, they did not post any photographs or status updates. Mahesh said the families had been informed about the crash.

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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.

Nataraj’s family is based in Huliyurdurga in Tumakuru district. He was associated with a poultry-related business; his family also runs a community hall in the village. Nataraj is survived by two children.

Another friend, Manjunath, said Sudheer frequently travelled to his native place and often organised trips with his close circle of friends. The group was supposed to return to Karnataka from the pilgrimage on October 28, but bad weather disrupted their plans.

Ningaraju hailed from Bachehalli in Hassan district. After completing an ITI course, he moved to Bengaluru, where he worked with a contractor before venturing into real estate. He was also associated with the Congress in Hassan. “He was always willing to help people. He would assist families with marriage arrangements and medical needs,” Manjunath said.

Prathap is survived by his wife and two children. “Prathap was keen on pursuing a political career and had plans to visit villages in connection with the upcoming local body elections after he returned from the trip…,” Manjunath said.

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Arun Salunke, an inspector with the CCB’s technical cell in Bengaluru, is survived by his wife and two children. In August, Salunke had lost a close friend and fellow police officer, Ravi K B, an inspector with the South-East Cyber Crime police station, who died in an accident in Madhya Pradesh while on his way to arrest a cybercrime suspect. Following Ravi’s death, Salunke had shared a tribute on Facebook, describing him as not just a colleague, “but my brother in uniform”.

The bodies of all victims were recovered, said officials. DNA samples are being collected from the relatives of the victims for identifying the bodies.