Six people, a pilot and five friends from Karnataka, died when a Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter crashed near Joshimath on Friday. The AAIB has begun a probe and the operator's fleet is grounded.
A helicopter carrying five pilgrims from Karnataka and a pilot crashed into a hillside near Joshimath in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday, killing all six people on board. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate, and authorities have grounded the operator's entire fleet as a precaution.
The helicopter, registered VT-HCX and operated by Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt Ltd, left the Badrinath helipad for Sahastradhara in Dehradun at about 1.12 pm, according to Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh Panwar. Contact was lost around two minutes later near Joshimath. An Army signal centre team reportedly saw smoke and the aircraft losing height quickly over the Hathi Parvat area.
The district disaster management officer informed authorities at about 2.14 pm, and officials gave differing accounts of exactly when the aircraft went down. Police, the State Disaster Response Force, the Army and other agencies launched a search, and an Army team reached the wreckage near Chai village at about 3.30 pm and confirmed that no one had survived. Officials said the area had adverse weather, and the India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for thunderstorms, hail and strong winds. The cause has not been determined.
The dead were identified as pilot Captain Himanshu Sabharwal, 48, of Delhi, and five men from Karnataka: Arun Salunke, 44, an inspector with the Central Crime Branch, businessman H.S. Nataraj, 51, civil contractor Pratap, 41, and advocates Sudhir K. and Shankar Gowda. Reports differ on the ages of the last two. The friends had begun the Char Dham yatra a few days earlier and were due to fly home to Bengaluru on Friday evening.
One of them had spoken to a childhood friend hours before the crash, saying the group was waiting inside the helicopter for the weather to clear. Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed grief and said his office was coordinating with Uttarakhand to bring the bodies home, while Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a detailed inquiry.
Because of darkness, bear activity and difficult terrain, the administration decided against sending more personnel overnight. An Army team stayed at the site, and recovery is due to resume at 5 am on Saturday. The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority said it grounded all Trans Bharat helicopters, and its chief executive, Prateek Jain, said only an inquiry would reveal the reason for the crash. A UCADA source said helicopters leaving Badrinath before and after the flight reached Dehradun without trouble.
An AAIB analysis released this month recorded nine mishaps, eight accidents and one serious incident, in the Char Dham sector between 2015 and 2025, with at least one every year since 2022. The most serious include the May 2025 Gangnani crash that killed six and a June 2025 crash on the Kedarnath route that killed seven.
Also read- Horrible Tragedy in Spain as Train Crash Kills 30
Explore our upcoming features, author interviews, and deep-dives into new policy reforms.