Six killed as helicopter crashes near Joshimath in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: Six people, including the pilot, were killed after a helicopter crashed in Uttarakhand on Friday. The helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation, was carrying passengers from Badrinath to Phata when it crashed near the Joshimath-Badrinath route around noon. The deceased have been identified as pilot Captain Himanshu and passengers Pratap, Arun, Shankar Gowda, Sudhir K and H S Nataraj.

The helicopter took off from Badrinath at 1.15 pm amid heavy snowfall. It lost communication near the Hathi Parvat range. The aircraft crashed on a hillside near Marwari Bridge, close to the JP Power House, at around 2.20 pm. According to the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Department Authority, communication with the helicopter was lost while it was flying over the Joshimath valley. Its location could not be traced after its signal also disappeared from the tracking system. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the situation was being closely monitored. Badrinath is one of the major temples along Uttarakhand's Char Dham pilgrimage route.