In brief
A helicopter that departed Badrinath on a snowy afternoon lost contact over Hathi Parvat and crashed near Chayee village in Chamoli district, killing all six people on board. Uttarakhand officials are conducting a detailed investigation and have expressed deep sorrow over the loss. The incident occurred at 1:14 p.m. local time and authorities are reviewing shuttle and charter operations for the remainder of the season.
A helicopter that took off from Badrinath around 1:14 p.m. local time on Friday crashed near Chayee village close to Joshimath in Chamoli district, killing all six people on board, including the pilot, officials said.
The aircraft, which was operating amid heavy snowfall, lost contact over the Hathi Parvat area before crashing, a report from the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority confirmed.
Prateek Jain, chief executive officer of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority, said a detailed investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the accident and that, based on the findings, a decision will be made about how shuttle and charter operations will proceed for the remainder of the season.
A detailed investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the accident, and based on those findings, a decision will be made regarding how shuttle and charter operations will proceed for the remainder of the season.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and directed officials to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.
Officials are currently gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses, and have described the incident as a tragic loss for the region. The crash site is located approximately 290 kilometres northeast of Dehradun, the state's capital.