Chamoli, October 30: The helicopter that went missing after taking off from Badrinath earlier on Friday has crashed near Chai village, close to Joshimath in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami confirmed. Six people — the pilot and five passengers — were on board the aircraft, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation.

In a post on X, the Chief Minister said: "We have received the unfortunate news of a helicopter crash near Chai village, close to Joshimath. A joint rescue operation is being conducted by the district administration, disaster management department, and SDRF." He said instructions had been issued to airlift any seriously injured passengers to advanced medical facilities, and that he was personally monitoring the incident.

According to preliminary information reported by IANS, the helicopter, bearing registration VT-HCX, took off from Badrinath on Friday afternoon and its last reported contact was near the Army post atop Hathi Pahad, opposite Joshimath. Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar said the administration launched a rescue operation immediately after receiving information about the incident.

Chamoli District Disaster Management Officer Nandkishore Joshi said reports had emerged of a white object burning in the forest above the JP Dam, suspected to be the helicopter, and other helicopters were deployed for aerial reconnaissance. Medical teams have been rushed to the area. Persistent rainfall and dense cloud cover are making the search and rescue operation difficult, officials said.

The condition of the six people on board had not been officially confirmed at the time of reporting. Some television reports said all six were feared dead, but officials had not confirmed any casualties, and Awaaz Punjab is reporting only what authorities have stated on record.

India Today reported that, as a precaution, the entire fleet of Trans Bharat Aviation helicopters has been grounded while the rescue operation continues. The incident follows two emergency landings involving helicopters on Uttarakhand's Char Dham routes earlier this month — one in Rudraprayag due to poor weather and another in Tehri following a technical issue, according to IANS.