Five from Bengaluru among six killed in helicopter crash near Uttarakhand’s Joshimath

Mangalore Today News Network

Uttarakhand, Oct 30, 2026: A Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) inspector -- Arun Salunke -- was one among the six people, including the pilot, killed after a helicopter crashed on the Joshimath-Badrinath route in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Friday.

Others on board the Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt. Ltd.’s helicopter were identified as Capt Himanshu, Prathapa, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K, and H S Natraja.

Other than Capt Himanshu all are from Bengaluru.

The helicopter was carrying six people when it reportedly lost contact near Hathi Parvat amid snowfall on October 30. It had taken off from Badrinath at around 1.14 pm and was heading towards Sahastradhara in Dehradun.

Inspector Salunke was reportedly travelling with four friends, who are said to be lawyers. The helicopter was operated by Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt Ltd and bore the call sign VT-HCX.

Teams of the Chamoli administration, police, SDRF, Army and ITBP have been dispatched to the site for relief and rescue operations, officials said.

In a post on X, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "We have received the unfortunate news of a helicopter crash near Chaien village, close to Joshimath. A joint rescue operation is being conducted by the district administration, disaster management department, and SDRF. I am continuously monitoring the entire incident. Instructions have been given to immediately airlift the seriously injured to higher centres for better treatment..."

The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) said that a Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt Ltd’s helicopter bearing call sign VT-HCX, operating from Badrinath to Sahastradhara, Dehradun, which took off at approximately 1:15 pm, went missing around 2:20 pm.

"The helicopter lost communication when it was flying over Joshimath valley. At the same time, the tracking system could no longer track the helicopter, and its current location has not been ascertained yet," said a statement issued by UCADA.