Search and rescue personnel have recovered the bodies of all six individuals who lost their lives when a helicopter crashed while returning from Badrinath Dham in Uttarakhand. According to official details released by the district administration at 4:50 AM on November 1, the remains of everyone on board the aircraft that went down on October 30 have been retrieved from the rugged terrain. Rescue teams brought the bodies from the crash site to the road head near Chai village before transferring them to the Community Health Centre at Jyotirmath.
Five Karnataka Pilgrims and Pilot on Board
The victims of the crash include pilot Himanshu Sabharwal and five passengers, all hailing from Karnataka. The Trans company helicopter had taken off from Badrinath Dham on October 30 and was en route to Rishikesh. Severe weather conditions in the region caused the chopper to crash above Chai and Thayang villages, resulting in the immediate death of all six occupants on board.
Multi-Agency Operation in Rugged Terrain
Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar stated that the administration was initially alerted to the incident by the Army, following which officials traced the exact location and confirmed the crash. A major joint recovery operation was subsequently mobilized, involving personnel from the Army, ITBP, NDRF, SDRF, Uttarakhand Police, the Forest Department, and the Revenue Department. Rescuers navigated treacherous mountain slopes to complete the mission, and all participating personnel had safely returned from the crash zone by the time the official report was issued.
Remains Airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh
The recovered bodies had been moved to Joshimath late on Saturday night. Once the weather cleared the following morning, two separate helicopters airlifted all six bodies to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh. All remaining medico-legal formalities, formal identifications, and postmortem examinations will be conducted at AIIMS Rishikesh before the remains are handed over to the grieving families.
