Six killed in helicopter crash near Joshimath

A helicopter carrying six people crashed near Joshimath in Uttarakhand on October 30, killing everyone aboard, officials said. The aircraft was operated by Trans Bharat Aviation and was flying from Badrinath to Sahastradhara in Dehradun when it lost communication and tracking over Joshimath Valley. The six aboard were the pilot, identified in reports as Captain Himanshu, and five passengers: Prathapa, Arun, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K and H S Natraja. The passengers were reported to be from Bengaluru. The aircraft crashed near Chai village in Chamoli district, with officials placing the crash at about 2:20 p.m. Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar said the six had died and their bodies had been found but not yet recovered. Other reports said all six bodies had been recovered and were being moved from the remote site. Rescue and recovery efforts involved the district administration, police, the State Disaster Response Force, the Army and other teams. The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority said the helicopter took off at 1:14 p.m. and that contact and tracking were lost as it passed through Joshimath Valley. The authority grounded Trans Bharat...