Multi-agency search and rescue teams resumed operations on Saturday to retrieve and transport the bodies of six people killed in a helicopter crash near Chayee village, close to a hill in the Marwari area of Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.
Inclement weather, marked by rain and severely reduced visibility along the flight route, is believed to have caused the accident. However, the exact cause of the accident is yet to be established. The Army, ITBP, NDRF, SDRF, and local police, resumed operations at 5 am on Saturday to bring the bodies down to the nearest road head, according to Jyotirmath Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Shekhar Vashisht.
The helicopter – operated by Trans Bharat Aviation bearing registration call sign VT-HCX – was returning to the Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun from Badrinath when it crashed on Friday afternoon. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed senior officials on Friday evening to conduct a thorough inquiry into the accident to ascertain its exact cause and examine all technical and weather-related factors.
