A helicopter carrying six people is believed to have crashed after going missing in northern India, officials said.
The aircraft was carrying five passengers and one pilot and was flying from the mountainous Hindu pilgrimage destination Badrinath to Joshimath in Uttarakhand state’s Chamoli district.
The local administration has launched an aerial search using another helicopter after losing contact with the aircraft.
“We have received the unfortunate news of a helicopter crash near Chayee village, close to Joshimath. A joint rescue operation is being conducted by the district administration, disaster management department, and SDRF,” chief minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a post on X.
He said that those seriously injured shall be “immediately airlifted” and taken to medical centres for treatment.
#WATCH | Uttarakhand: A team from the district administration is currently searching for the missing helicopter travelling from Badrinath to Dehradun.
— ANI (@ANI) October 30, 2026
Smoke was seen rising near Chaien village in Joshimath, following the disappearance of the helicopter. There are six people on… https://t.co/WOlBnE8a7z pic.twitter.com/TVSuM8gJLm
The helicopter was operated by Trans Bharat Aviation and crashed near a village in Joshimath in Chamoli district. It reportedly took off from Badrinath at around 1.15pm local time amid snowfall before losing contact near the Hathi Parvat area.
The wreckage of the aircraft is yet to be located and there are reports that rainfall and low visibility are making the search challenging.
The Indian Express reported that the India Meteorological Department had issued a weather warning for Chamoli district in the state, forecasting thunderstorms, hailstorms and strong winds gusting up to 50 kmph. It had also predicted rain and snowfall along the Badrinath-Joshimath route.
Prateek Jain, the chief executive officer of the Uttarakhand civil aviation development authority (Ucada), was quoted as saying by ANI news agency: “We have been unable to trace the helicopter’s location since it was passing through the vicinity of the Joshimath valley.”
He said that “as a precautionary measure, the entire fleet of helicopters belonging to Trans Bharat Aviation has been grounded”.
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