Joshimath Helicopter Crash Kills 6, CCB Inspector Among Victims
Bengaluru CCB Inspector Arun Salunke was travelling with four friends when the helicopter went down near Hathi Parvat amid snowfall.
- Six people killed in the Joshimath helicopter crash.
- Bengaluru CCB Inspector Arun Salunke among the victims.
- Helicopter was flying from Badrinath to Dehradun.
- Army, ITBP, SDRF and local teams deployed at the site.
GG News Bureau
Dehradun, 30th Oct: The Joshimath helicopter crash in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district claimed six lives on Friday, including Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) Inspector Arun Salunke. The helicopter was operating on the Badrinath-Sahastradhara route when it reportedly lost contact near Hathi Parvat.
The aircraft, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation Pvt Ltd and bearing call sign VT-HCX, was carrying six people, including the pilot. It had taken off from Badrinath at around 1:14 pm and was heading towards Sahastradhara in Dehradun when the incident occurred amid snowfall.
The deceased were identified as Captain Himanshu, Arun Salunke, Prathapa, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K and H S Natraja. All passengers except Captain Himanshu were from Bengaluru.
Inspector Salunke was reportedly travelling with four friends, who were said to be lawyers.
Rescue teams deployed to crash site
Teams from the Chamoli district administration, police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were dispatched to the accident site for relief and rescue operations.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed concern over the incident and said a joint operation involving the district administration, disaster management department and SDRF was underway.
Dhami said he was continuously monitoring the situation. He also said instructions had been issued to airlift seriously injured people to higher medical centres for better treatment.
The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) said the helicopter, which took off at approximately 1:15 pm, went missing around 2:20 pm.
According to the authority, the aircraft lost communication while flying over Joshimath valley, and its tracking system could no longer establish its location.
