Uttarakhand chopper crash: All six on board killed, says Chamoli District Magistrate

All six passengers in the chopper in Badrinath crash died at the spot, said District Magistrate Chamoli, Gaurav Kumar on Friday (October 30, 2026). The six people on board the Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt. Ltd.’s helicopter were identified as Capt. Himanshu and five male passengers — Prathapa, Arun, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K, and H S Natraja.

A team from the Indian army that has reached the spot confirmed the fatalities.

The helicopter on the way from Badrinath to Dehradun carrying six people, including the pilot, crashed near Joshimath on a rained out, overcast Friday afternoon (October 30, 2026), Uttarakhand disaster management officials said.

The chopper crashed into a hillside near the JP Power House near Marwari Bridge around 2.20 p.m., they said. It is not confirmed yet whether it was returning from the Badrinath shrine. Teams of the Chamoli administration, police, SDRF, Army and ITBP have been dispatched to the site for relief and rescue operations, they said.

Passengers were from Bengaluru, initial reports say

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 p.m., went missing around 2.20 p.m.

“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.

UCADA CEO Prateek Jain earlier said that details about the passengers were being verified, with initial reports saying they were from Bengaluru. He said that the location where the helicopter has crashed has not been traced yet. “As soon as the weather clears, another rescue helicopter will be sent to locate the missing chopper, he added.

UCADA said that as a precautionary measure, the entire fleet of Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt. Ltd. has been grounded.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, in a post on X, said: “Reports have been received regarding an unfortunate helicopter crash near Chai village, close to Joshimath. A joint rescue operation is being conducted by the district administration, the Disaster Management Department, and the SDRF.

“I am personally monitoring the situation closely. I have issued instructions to ensure that those who are critically injured are immediately airlifted to a higher-level medical facility for better treatment. I pray to God for the safety of the passengers,” he added.

Arun Salunke, an inspector with the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB), was among those killed in the crash. According to CCB sources, Mr. Salunke was on a trip to Uttarakhand with his friends. This is the second time in two months that the Bengaluru police department has lost an inspector. On August 28, Ravi K.B., a cybercrime investigator, died in a bus accident in Madhya Pradesh.

Pratap Gowda Bachihalli, a native of Bachihalli in Sakaleshpur, was one of the passengers in the helicopter.

A contractor and businessman, Pratap Gowda had been living in Bengaluru for some years. He is survived by his wife and two children.

He had an inclination to enter politics. According to his friends, he had recently joined the Congress and was interested in contesting the coming Zilla Panchayat elections from the Yeslur constituency in Sakaleshpur taluk.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, who is also Revenue Minister, said on X, “Concerned to learn that a helicopter travelling from Badrinath to Dehradun has lost contact, with five passengers from Karnataka reportedly on board. I immediately contacted the Chamoli district SP and sought an update on the safety of the passengers. The local administration is carrying out search and rescue efforts to locate the helicopter.”