JOSHIMATH: A helicopter carrying six people went missing in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday afternoon after taking off from Badrinath, and is feared to have crashed near Joshimath, officials and reports from the district administration said.

Source: PTI via Daily World

According to information from the Chamoli administration, the Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter, registration VT-HCX, took off from Badrinath at 1:12 pm bound for Dehradun. It was last in contact near an Army post behind Hathi Pahar, above Chai village near Joshimath, after which all contact was lost. Five passengers and the pilot were on board.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami posted on X that unfortunate information had been received about a helicopter crash near Chai village, Joshimath. He said a joint rescue operation was being carried out by the district administration, the disaster management department and the SDRF, that he was personally monitoring the situation, and that he had directed that any seriously injured be airlifted immediately to a higher medical centre.

Source: IANS via The News Com

Additional District Magistrate (Chamoli) Vivek Prakash said search teams had been sent to the area, and two helicopters were deployed in the search, according to reports. The Army unit in the area was reported to have alerted the district magistrate after contact was lost.

Officials had not, at the time of publishing, confirmed that wreckage had been located, and there was no official word on the condition of the six people on board. Some reports differed on the helicopter's destination, with most official accounts naming Dehradun. Readers should treat early crash details as developing until the administration confirms them.

Weather in Chamoli district was poor on Friday, with rain and low visibility hampering the search. The weather department had warned of rain, hail and strong winds of 40 to 50 km per hour in the region, according to reports from the area.

Source: The Lens