According to the district administration, all six people aboard the helicopter died. A team from the Indian Army's 9 Independent Mountain Brigade reached the accident site at around 3:30 pm and confirmed the deaths.
The helicopter belonged to Trans Bharat Aviation. According to a report issued by the District Disaster Management Officer, the aircraft took off from Badrinath at 1:12 pm and crashed at around 2 pm while returning towards Sahastradhara.
Chamoli Additional District Magistrate Vivek Prakash confirmed the incident, stating, "A helicopter returning from Badrinath to Sahastradhara crashed on its way in the high Himalayan region near Hathi Pahad and Chai village. Five passengers and one pilot, a total of six people aboard the helicopter, have died in this tragic accident."
According to the Additional District Magistrate, all six bodies have been located and rescue teams have reached the crash site. The bodies will be recovered and brought to Joshimath, where post-mortem examinations will be conducted the following day.
The deceased have been identified as pilot Himanshu Sabharwal, a resident of Delhi, and passengers Arun Salunke, HS Nataraj, Pratapa Bachihalli Nigrajan, Sudhir K and Shankar Gowda VB. The district administration's report stated that the passengers were from Karnataka.
Among the victims was police inspector Arun Salunke, who was originally from Belagavi district in Karnataka. He had travelled to Badrinath with four friends. Two of the friends accompanying him were lawyers.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told BBC News Hindi, "Arun was a good police officer. He was also the officer who recently arrested an IAS officer from Andhra Pradesh following a dispute at a pub."
Arun Salunke was regarded as a good police officer. His death has also drawn attention to the loss of a serving police official in the crash.
Following the accident, teams from the Indian Army, district administration, police, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) launched relief and rescue operations.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed deep grief over the loss of lives. He directed officials to conduct a detailed investigation into the causes of the accident and examine all aspects of the incident.
As a precautionary measure, the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) suspended flights operated by the entire helicopter fleet of Trans Bharat Aviation. A detailed investigation is underway to establish the cause of the crash.
The accident took place on Friday amid heavy rainfall in the region. The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for the area, warning of thunderstorms, rain, hailstorms and strong winds.
The latest crash comes amid a series of helicopter accidents reported along Uttarakhand's pilgrimage routes. In June 2025, a helicopter carrying pilgrims crashed near Kedarnath, killing seven people. Another helicopter accident on the same pilgrimage route in October 2022 also claimed seven lives.
Several other helicopter accident incidents were reported during the 2025 pilgrimage season. Following these incidents, aviation authorities tightened safety inspections and imposed restrictions on the operations of certain helicopter services.
The deaths of all six occupants in the latest Badrinath crash have once again brought helicopter safety on Uttarakhand's pilgrimage routes under scrutiny, while authorities continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident.
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