Search Teams Restart Recovery of Six Victims After Helicopter Crash Near Joshimath

Search and rescue teams resumed early Saturday to retrieve the bodies of six people killed in a helicopter crash near Chayee village, close to Joshimath in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. Multi‑agency units – the Army, Indo‑Tibetan Border Police, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local police – began operations at 5 a.m., after halting work late Friday because of hazardous terrain and fading light. An Army unit that first reached the site also warned district officials of Himalayan bear activity in the surrounding forest. The aircraft, a Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter registered VT‑HCX, was returning to Dehradun’s Sahastradhara helipad from Badrinath when it went down on Friday afternoon. Inclement weather with rain and severely reduced visibility is believed to have caused the crash, though the exact cause remains under investigation. The flight had taken off from Badrinath at about 1.12 p.m., lost radio contact over the Jyotirmath valley and disappeared from tracking systems. Jyotirmath Sub‑Divisional Magistrate Shekhar Vashisht said additional teams were deployed and that several personnel stayed overnight at the crash site. Ground crews will decide whether to move the bodies to Pandukeshwar or back to Chayee village, whichever offers a safer route, before transporting them 12 km to Jyotirmath for post‑mortem examinations. The deceased are pilot Capt. Himanshu Sabharwal, 48, of Delhi, and five passengers from Karnataka – Pratapa (41), Arun Salunke (44), V B Shankar Gowda (39), Sudhir K (50) and H S Nataraja (51). Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a thorough inquiry into technical and weather‑related factors.## Context The crash highlights the challenges of flying in the Himalayas, where sudden weather changes and rugged terrain often complicate rescue efforts. Uttarakhand’s mountainous routes are frequently used for pilgrim and tourist traffic, making safety checks especially critical.