Chamoli, November 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The mortal remains of all six people killed in a helicopter crash near Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district have been recovered and transported to a road-accessible location, police said on Sunday.
The recovery operation was jointly conducted by the Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, district administration and Forest Department personnel amid challenging conditions in the remote, high-altitude mountainous region.
According to Chamoli Police, rescue teams navigated difficult mountain terrain on foot to recover the bodies of all six victims.
The remains were subsequently transported by road to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Joshimath. After completion of the necessary formalities, they were airlifted from the NTPC helipad to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, officials said.
Five passengers and the pilot were killed when the helicopter, travelling from Badrinath to Sahastradhara, crashed near Chai village close to Joshimath on October 30.
The pilot, Captain Himanshu Sabharwal, was operating the helicopter on behalf of private aviation company Transbharat Aviation Pvt Ltd. The five passengers were identified as Arun Salunke, an Inspector with the Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru Police; H.S. Nataraj, a businessman from Tumakuru; Prathapa Bachihally Ningaraju, a civil contractor and businessman from Hassan/Bengaluru; Sudheer K., an advocate from Bengaluru; and Shankar Gowda V.B., an advocate from Tumakuru/Bengaluru. All five passengers were residents of Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Friday that a team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had been sent to Dehradun to conduct a preliminary regulatory assessment of the crash.
The helicopter involved was an AS350B3 operated by Transbharat Aviation Pvt Ltd, bearing registration number VT-HCX.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered an inquiry into the accident.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Saturday that arrangements had been made to bring back the bodies of those killed in the crash.
He said the concerned governments and authorities, including officials in Delhi, were monitoring the situation and that he had shared all necessary information with them.
Shivakumar also appealed to travellers to exercise greater caution while undertaking such journeys in the future. He added that he had spoken to local authorities and seers in Uttarakhand regarding the situation.
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