Badrinath-Dehradun Helicopter Crash Kills Six, Investigation Launched

A privately run helicopter carrying pilgrims from Badrinath crashed into a hillside near Joshimath in Uttarakhand on an overcast Friday afternoon, killing all six persons on board. The helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation, lost contact minutes after taking off for Dehradun. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has launched an investigation, with its team already dispatched to the site.

The helicopter, call sign VT-HCX, departed from Badrinath for Sahastradhara (Dehradun) at 13:12 pm. Contact was lost shortly thereafter, at 13:14 pm, near Joshimath. The District Emergency Operations Centre (DEOC) reported that an Army's Signal Centre team spotted the helicopter in the Hathi Parvat area, observing smoke rising and it rapidly losing altitude. The IMD had issued an 'orange alert' for Chamoli for Friday, forecasting thunderstorms, lightning, hailstorms, and gusty winds reaching speeds of 40 to 50 km/hour.

The deceased include pilot Captain Himanshu Sabharwal (48) from Delhi, and five pilgrims from Karnataka: H S Nataraja (51), Sudeer K (50), Arun Salunke (44), Prathapa Bachihalliy Ningarajan (41), and Shankargowda VB (39). Arun Salunke was an inspector of Bengaluru Police's Central Crime Branch. The bodies were found in the vicinity of the wreckage in Chai village, approximately 45 km from Badrinath shrine, and are to be brought back on Saturday for post-mortem in Joshimath town, according to Additional District Magistrate of Chamoli, Vivek Prakash.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed deep grief and directed officials to conduct a detailed investigation into the accident's causes, emphasizing thorough examination of every aspect and support for affected families. As a precautionary measure, the entire fleet of Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt. Ltd. has been grounded, as confirmed by UCADA CEO Prateek Jain. SP Surjit Singh Panwar stated that joint teams of police, SDRF, and the Army, along with drone teams, were dispatched for search and rescue. The incident adds to a concerning trend in the Char Dham sector, where an AAIB analysis noted nine occurrences, including eight accidents, between 2015-2025, with at least one accident or serious incident annually since 2022. Last year saw four accidents, two of them fatal, marking the maximum in a single year. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol previously stated that the DGCA initiated additional surveillance and safety audits for Chardham Yatra helicopter operations following 12 accidents involving registered helicopters and 30 deaths during 2020-2025, with seven in Uttarakhand.

What to watch: The ongoing AAIB investigation and any further safety measures for Char Dham helicopter services.

Editor's note: The draft effectively synthesizes the crash details, victim information, and the regulatory context regarding Chardham helicopter safety.