DEHRADUN: All six occupants, including the pilot and passengers, were killed after a private helicopter crashed in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. Confirming the recovery of all six bodies from the crash site, Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar stated that the search and rescue team located the wreckage following an extensive search operation.
The deceased have been identified as pilot Himanshu Sabharwal (48), and passengers Pratap (41), Arun Salunke (44), Shankar Gowda (39), Sudheer K. (49), and H.S. Nataraj (51).
The helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation Private Limited, had taken off from Badrinath bound for Dehradun around 1:14 PM. Adverse weather conditions over the high-altitude terrain between Badrinath and Joshimath led to the disaster. Contact with the chopper was lost while it was hovering over the Joshimath valley, prompting air traffic authorities to initiate an immediate search protocol.
Among the victims, pilot Himanshu was a resident of Shalimar Bagh in West Delhi, while passenger Arun was a serving police officer and Shankar was a practicing advocate. The passengers are reported to be natives of Bengaluru. Joint relief teams comprising the Indian Army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and local police reached the remote site to execute recovery procedures.
For more details: Navamalayalam.com