A Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter, registration VT‑HCX, departed Badrinath at 1:14 p.m. on Friday, last heard near the Hathi Pahad Army post, before it vanished over the forested slopes above the JP Dam, 4 km from Chaien village.
The aircraft carried six crew: pilot Capt. Himanshu Sabharwal, 48, of Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, and five passengers—Pratap B. Ningaraju, 41; Arun Salunke, 44, a policeman; Sudhir K, 49; HS Nataraj, 51; and Shankargouda VB, 39, a lawyer— all hailing from Bengaluru.
District administration, the State Disaster Response Force, and the Civil Aviation Development Authority launched a joint rescue operation after smoke was spotted near Chaien village. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called for an immediate airlift of the severely injured.
Aerial search teams, including additional helicopters dispatched by the state, are combing the terrain while ground teams face continuous rainfall and low cloud cover that hampers visibility.
Officials plan to bring survivors to higher‑level medical facilities, while investigators prepare to collect wreckage and trace the cause of the crash.