Helicopter with six on board crashes near Joshimath after leaving Badrinath

A helicopter carrying six people crashed near Chai village close to Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Friday (30 October), Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said. The helicopter was returning from Badrinath when it went missing, and most reports said it was headed for Dehradun.

There were five passengers and one pilot on board, the Chamoli district administration said. “Smoke was seen rising near Chaien village in Joshimath, following the disappearance of the helicopter,” the administration said, according to ANI.

Dhami said in a post on X, written in Hindi, that the district administration, the disaster management department and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were running a joint rescue operation, that he was monitoring it himself, and that he had ordered the seriously injured to be airlifted to a higher centre for treatment. “ईश्वर से यात्रियों के सकुशल होने की कामना करता हूं,” he wrote, meaning that he prays to God for the passengers’ safety.

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the SDRF and Uttarakhand Police were heading to the suspected crash site, and two other helicopters were deployed to trace the aircraft, News18 and the Economic Times reported. Adverse weather was believed to have prevailed in the area when the helicopter lost contact, and persistent rain and poor visibility were hampering the search.

News18 reported that search teams had spotted debris, while other reports said the wreckage was yet to be located. As of Friday afternoon, officials had not confirmed the condition of the six people on board.

Reports have given different names for the helicopter’s operator and its final destination. Neither had been officially confirmed at the time of publishing.