A 41-year-old passenger recorded a final video of the Himalayas just minutes before his helicopter crashed near Joshimath. The tragic accident claimed the lives of five passengers from Karnataka and their pilot. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a full investigation into the crash.
A smile for the camera before take off, then a view of the snow covered Himalayas. These were the final two recordings 41-year-old Pratap Bachihalli Ningaraju transmitted to his family, from inside the helicopter on Friday, as it flew from Badrinath, one of Hinduism’s most hallowed pilgrimage sites, located about 11,000 feet above sea level, to Sahastradhara, near Dehra Dun.
The first video was Pratap grinning at the camera. The second showed a view of the snow-capped mountains outdoors. These were his last communications to his family, sent at roughly 1:12pm.
The helicopter disappeared from view less than two minutes later. Its mangled remains were seen near Joshimath, its destination, at about 2:20 pm in a hamlet.
Pratap, along with five others, including the pilot, were confirmed dead. All the five passengers, namely Pratap, Arun Salunkhe, Sudhir K, HS Nataraj and Shankargowda VB, hailed from Karnataka. The pilot, Captain Himanshu Sabharwal, 48, hailed from Delhi. Salunkhe, 44, was an inspector with the Bengaluru Police’s Central Crime Branch.
The privately operated helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation, lost contact less than two minutes after take-off, Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar said. The helicopter with call sign VT-HCX was flying above the Joshimath valley when contact was lost. The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) claimed the tracking system also ceased getting the position of the chopper.
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According to the District Emergency Operations Centre (DEOC), an Army Signal Centre team spotted the helicopter in the Hathi Parvat area. Smoke was seen rising from it as it rapidly lost altitude. On behalf of the DEOC, a reconnaissance helicopter and a Retriever helicopter from UCADA conducted an airborne reconnaissance of the crash scene. From Sahastradhara also, a team of SDRF was sent.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed condolences over the deaths and ordered for a full probe into the cause of the accident. He also requested the district administration to give all possible help to the relatives of the dead and see that relief preparations are done at the earliest. Dhami later held a review meeting and instructed officials to carry out rescue and relief operations on a war footing, using all available resources.