DEHRADUN: The bodies of all six people killed in a helicopter crash near Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district were recovered from the site on Saturday, a day after the aircraft crashed in a remote mountainous area.
The victims, including the pilot, were taken to Joshimath. They will be transported to AIIMS Rishikesh on Sunday morning for post-mortem examinations, officials said.
“The bodies retrieved from the crash site have been taken to Joshimath. From there, they will be brought to AIIMS Rishikesh on Sunday morning for post-mortem examinations,” State Disaster Response Force Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi told TNIE.
Rescue teams reached the site on foot from the Pandukeshwar side, negotiating steep and difficult mountain paths, the Chamoli district administration said. The remote location, difficult terrain and weather conditions hampered the recovery operation.
The helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt Ltd and bearing the call sign VT-HCX, took off from Badrinath at 1.14 pm on Friday for the Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun, according to Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority officials.
The aircraft disappeared from tracking systems near Pandukeshwar in the Joshimath valley shortly after take-off. A search team was dispatched, and information about the crash emerged soon afterwards.
The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for the area, warning of thunderstorms, hail and strong winds. Reports also cited heavy rain, dense cloud cover and near-zero visibility. The pilot had reportedly asked passengers to wait for the thick fog to clear before departure.
Those killed were identified as pilot Captain Himanshu Sabharwal, 48, of Delhi, and passengers Pratap, 41; Arun Salunke, 44; V B Shankar Gowda, 39; advocate Sudhir K, 50; and H S Nataraja, 51. All five passengers were from Karnataka.
Salunke was an inspector with the Karnataka Central Crime Branch and had travelled to Badrinath with friends. Nataraja was reportedly the head of a Vidya Bharati educational institution.
Badrinath is part of Uttarakhand’s Char Dham pilgrimage circuit, along with Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The Himalayan shrines remain open to pilgrims for only a few months each year before closing for winter.