Lost contact over Joshimath, tracking signal vanished: What led to Uttarakhand helicopter crash?

New Delhi: Six people, including a pilot, were killed on Friday after a helicopter operated by Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt Ltd crashed in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district while flying from Badrinath to Dehradun. The helicopter lost communication with radar shortly after take-off, with adverse weather conditions reported in the area.

The helicopter, bearing call sign VT-HCX, took off from the Badrinath civil helipad for Sahastradhara in Dehradun at around 1.12 pm on October 30. According to Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA), its communication link was lost near Joshimath at around 1.14 pm.

UCADA Chief Executive Officer Prateek Jain confirmed to ANI over the phone that all six people on board had died in the crash.

Helicopter Lost Communication Over Joshimath Valley

Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh Panwar said the helicopter's transmission link with radar was lost shortly after it departed from Badrinath.

In a self-recorded video statement, Panwar said, “A helicopter belonging to Trans Bharat Aviation took off from the Badrinath civil helipad, bound for the Sahastradhara helipad, today, October 30, at approximately 1:12 PM. At 1:14 PM, its transmission link with the radar was lost near Joshimath.”

Personnel at a nearby Army post reportedly spotted the helicopter heading into the valley, about one kilometre above the Bhandakand Temple near Pandukeshwar.

“According to personnel at a nearby Army post, the helicopter was observed heading into the valley, about 1 kilometre above the Bhandakand Temple near Pandukeshwar,” the SP said.

The aircraft was later found crashed near Chayee village, close to a hill in the Marwari area of Jyotirmath.

Army, Police and SDRF Teams Deployed

After the helicopter went missing, two search teams comprising police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Army personnel were dispatched from Pandukeshwar and Joshimath to locate the aircraft.

“We have dispatched two teams, one from the direction of Pandukeshwar and the other from Joshimath, comprising police, SDRF, and Army personnel. Search and rescue operations are currently underway,” Panwar said in his statement.

A drone was also deployed from Gopeshwar to assist in the search operation. SDRF personnel from Jyotirmath were sent to the crash site, while other teams worked to reach the location through the mountainous terrain.

Six People Killed in Crash

The helicopter was carrying pilot Captain Himanshu Sabharwal, 48, a resident of Delhi, and five passengers from Karnataka.

The passengers were identified as Prathapa, 41; Arun Salunke, 44; V.B. Shankar Gowda, 39; Sudhir K., 50; and HS Nataraja, 51.

All six occupants died in the crash, UCADA chief executive officer Prateek Jain confirmed.

The helicopter was returning from Badrinath Dham to Dehradun when the incident occurred. Adverse weather conditions were reported in the area, though the exact cause of the crash has not yet been established.

(With agencies' inputs)