Chamoli: The mortal remains of all six victims who were killed in a helicopter crash in Uttarakhand’s Johimath were recovered and sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, on Sunday morning, said the district administration, as PTI reported.
Trans Bharat Aviation’s helicopter crashed into a hillside near Cahi village on Friday while returning to Dehradun from the Badrinath shrine. All six people, including the pilot, were dead on the spot.
The mortal remains, initially brought to a Community Health Centre (CHC) in Joshimath, were transported to AIIMS, Rishikesh after completing necessary formalities.
As per the district administration, the team comprising Indian Army, Indo- Tibetan Border Police(ITBP), State Disaster Response Force(SDRF), National Disaster Response Force(NDRF), police and Forest Department together carried out the rescue mission.
The recovery process, which started on Friday, was delayed due to the inaccessible, high- altitude terrain, tough weather conditions and poor visibility. Rescue operations were halted on Friday night due to the presence of wild animals and darkness; they resumed on Saturday.
The private helicopter, under the registration VT-HCX, took off from Badrinath at around 1.14 pm on Friday towards the Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun. It lost communication midway, leading to the wreckage near Chai Village, in the Marwari area of Joshimath.
As per India News, the victims were identified as Captain Himanshu Sabharwal and passengers Pratap, Arun Salunke, V B Shankar Gowda, Sudhir K and H S Nataraja.
The Indian Meteorological Department(IMD) had issued a warning of bad weather conditions on October 30.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)’s investigation into the accident is underway.
As a precautionary measure, the Uttarakhand government grounded the whole fleet of Trans Bharat Aviation. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) mandated that co-pilots be necessary for all charter helicopter operations for the rest of the pilgrimage season.
An AAIB investigation report showed that eight helicopter accidents and one major accident occurred in the Char Dham sector between 2015 and 2025.
The Char Dham pilgrimage comprises Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, where thousands of devotees flock every year. Helicopter services are time-saving, quicker options to cover some of these risky Himalayan routes.
(With agency inputs from PTI)
