Joshimath Helicopter Crash: 6 Dead, Trans Bharat Fleet Grounded

All six people on board a Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter died when it crashed on a hillside near Chai village in Joshimath, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, on Friday, 30 October. The helicopter, call sign VT-HCX, took off from Badrinath for Sahastradhara in Dehradun at about 1:12 pm and lost contact with ground control about 1:14 pm, Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar said. An Army team from the 9 Independent Mountain Brigade reached the wreckage at about 3:30 pm and found no survivors, according to officials quoted by Business Standard and other outlets. The cause is not yet known.

Whole Fleet Grounded as a Precaution

The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) said Trans Bharat Aviation’s entire fleet has been grounded. Officials have not said for how long. Pilgrims who booked Trans Bharat flights on the Badrinath route should expect cancellations until the state clears the operator.

The dead are the pilot, Captain Himanshu Sabharwal, 48, of Delhi, and five pilgrims from Bengaluru, one of them an inspector with the city police’s Central Crime Branch. The bodies were located near the wreckage. Officials said recovery would wait until Saturday because of darkness and difficult terrain, and post-mortems are planned in Joshimath.

Also read Delhi-NCR, Haryana Hail and 70 kmph Gust Alert for 30 October: IMD

Orange Alert Was in Force for Chamoli

The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for Chamoli for Friday, forecasting thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40 to 50 km/h. UCADA chief executive Prateek Jain said the helicopter was cleared to fly after officials judged conditions favourable. Whether weather played a part has not been established. The district emergency operations centre said an Army signal team in the Hathi Parvat area saw smoke rising from the helicopter as it lost height quickly.

Government figures given to the Rajya Sabha show 12 scheduled helicopter accidents killed 30 people between 2020 and 2025, seven of them in Uttarakhand. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has since begun extra surveillance and safety audits of Char Dham helicopter operations, Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol told the House.

AAIB Team at the Site

A senior Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau official said an investigation team has left for the site. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a detailed inquiry and told district officials to help the families. Compensation has not been announced. For more on similar incidents, see our Daily Updates section.

Source: Based on reporting by Business Standard and DY365, citing statements from the Chamoli Police and UCADA.

Image: PTI.