Contact lost with helicopter returning from Badrinath near Joshimath

In Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, a tragic incident of losing contact with a helicopter returning from Badrinath Dham has taken place. This helicopter is reported to have met with an accident in the area between Badrinath and Joshimath. According to a Hindustan Times report, five pilgrims were on board this helicopter who were returning from Badrinath to Dehradun. However, according to a Times of India report, it has also been stated that 6 people were on board the helicopter.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated on the social media platform X that tragic news of a helicopter crash near Chayi village close to Joshimath has been received. Chamoli's District Information Officer Dheeraj Karki provided the information that contact was lost with the helicopter returning from Badrinath Dham with five pilgrims. This incident has occurred amidst worsening weather in the region.

According to a TV9 Gujarati report, this Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter took off at 2:15 PM amidst heavy snowfall. Currently, rescue operations are being jointly conducted by the district administration, disaster management department, and SDRF. Two other helicopters have also been deployed to find the location of the missing helicopter. Chief Minister Dhami stated that he himself is continuously monitoring this entire incident and has given instructions to immediately airlift severely injured people to higher centres for treatment.

Difficulties are being faced in the search operation because visibility is very low due to continuous rain and dense clouds in this area. Teams are busy locating the helicopter in the area between Badrinath and Joshimath. No official information has yet been received regarding the condition of the people on board the helicopter.

It is noteworthy that during the Char Dham yatra in the month of October, emergency landings of two helicopters were also made. In this, one incident occurred in Rudraprayag due to bad weather, while the second incident occurred in Tehri due to a technical glitch. In both cases, the helicopters had to make emergency landings.