Helicopter enroute Badrinath-Phata crashes near Joshimath; all six on-board killed

A helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation and travelling from Badrinath to Dehradun has gone missing with six people on board, with Uttarakhand Chief Minister confirming it has crashed near Joshimath in Chamoli district on Friday. All six on-board were killed in the crash

"We have received the unfortunate news of a helicopter crash near Chayee village, close to Joshimath. A joint rescue operation is being conducted by the district administration, disaster management department, and SDRF," CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a post on social media platform X.

Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) also confirmed the news.


The helicopter, bearing call sign VT-HCX, took off at around 1:14 pm. Its tracking signal was also lost, and its current location could not be ascertained. Teams from the Indian Army, Chamoli district administration and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been mobilised for search and rescue operations, UCADA said.

There were six people on board, including the pilot, Capt. Himanshu, and five passengers identified as Prathapa, Arun, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K and H.S. Natraja. As a precautionary measure, the entire fleet of Trans Bharat Aviation has been grounded, UCADA said.

The area has been experiencing persistent rainfall and poor visibility hampering search operations. Two other choppers were pressed into service to locate the missing helicopter. According to PTI, the helicopter is reportedly operated by Charlie X-ray Company.

The Chamoli district administration confirmed that there were six people on the helicopter, including five passengers and one pilot.

According to preliminary information as per media reports, the helicopter is suspected to have crashed near Chayi village, behind Hathi Pahar in the Joshimath area. It was travelling from Badrinath to Phata, as per reports.

Two other helicopters have been deployed to trace the missing aircraft and locate its wreckage. Police, SDRF, Army and ITBP personnel have been dispatched to the site for relief and rescue operations, officials said.

Information about a possible helicopter crash landing was received from the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Joshimath at 2:21 pm, officials said.

The Trans Bharat helicopter was flying from Badrinath to Sahastradhara and had five passengers and a pilot on board. Its location was showing near the Army Camp above Chai village in the Joshimath area, Sub-Inspector Manohar Kanyal of Joshimath police post said. Details of the incident, including whether the helicopter had crashed or made an emergency landing, were not immediately available.