Members of rescue teams work at the site of a chopper crash in the Gaurikund area of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, June 15, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS
Six people were killed in a helicopter crash in the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on Friday, news agency ANI reported, citing an official from the state’s civil aviation authority.
The helicopter was flying from Badrinath, a prominent pilgrimage destination for Hindus located in the mountains, to Dehradun city, the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) said in a statement.
All six people on board the chopper, including five passengers and the pilot, were killed, ANI reported, citing UCADA’s Chief Executive Officer Prateek Jain.
“The helicopter lost communication while it was flying over Joshimath valley. At the same time, the tracking system could no longer track the helicopter,” the authority said.
The entire fleet of the operator, Trans Bharat Aviation, had been grounded “as a precautionary measure”, it added.
The operator did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the incident.
A joint search and rescue operation was carried out by the district administration, disaster management teams and troops in the region, officials said.
Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said his office had received information about a helicopter crashing near a village in the Joshimath area. A joint rescue operation was being carried out by the district administration, disaster management teams and troops in the region, Dhami said in a post on X.
चाई गांव, जोशीमठ के निकट हेलीकॉप्टर क्रैश होने की दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण सूचना प्राप्त हुई है। जिला प्रशासन, आपदा प्रबंधन विभाग, एसडीआरएफ द्वारा संयुक्त रूप से रेस्क्यू ऑपरेशन चलाया जा रहा है।
स्वयं भी पूरे घटनाक्रम की निरंतर निगरानी कर रहा हूं। गंभीर रूप से घायलों को तत्काल एयरलिफ्ट…
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) October 30, 2026
TV channels said that rescue teams had rushed to the site of the crash and fire and smoke were visible there.
