Helicopter Crash Near Joshimath Kills Six: Bodies Recovered, Entire Fleet Grounded
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Six people, including the pilot and five passengers, died on Friday after a private helicopter crashed near Chai village close to Joshimath in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district.
Joint rescue teams comprising the Uttarakhand Police, State Disaster Response Force, and the Indian Army recovered all six bodies from the rugged crash site. Operations to transport the remains to a road-accessible location are currently underway.
Fatal Flight and Crash Timeline
The aircraft, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation, took off from the Badrinath Civil Helipad at approximately 1:12 p.m. heading toward the Sahastradhara Helipad in Dehradun. Contact with the chopper was severed just two minutes later at around 1:14 p.m.
Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh Panwar stated that local personnel spotted the aircraft descending into a valley while maintaining a considerable height before communication vanished. The onboard tracking system simultaneously went offline.
Authorities identified the pilot as Captain Himanshu Sabharwal, a resident of Delhi. The five passengers—Prathapa, Arun, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K., and H.S. Natraja—all hailed from Karnataka. Officials confirmed that no women or children were on board.
Grounding of Fleet and Safety Concerns
In response to the tragedy, the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCDA) ordered the immediate grounding of the entire fleet operated by Trans Bharat Aviation pending investigation.
Senior political figures expressed alarm over the recurrence of aviation accidents in the mountainous terrain. Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat called for a thorough probe into the safety standards governing commercial chopper operations in the state.
Authorities have initiated formal inquiries to determine the exact mechanical or meteorological factors that led to the descent and subsequent crash near Joshimath.
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