Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], October 30 (ANI): All six people, including the pilot, on board a helicopter that went missing while flying from Badrinath Dham in Chamoli to Dehradun have died after the aircraft crashed, Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) Chief Executive Officer Prateek Jain informed ANI over the phone on Friday.

The helicopter had gone missing earlier in the day after taking off from Badrinath for Dehradun.

Earlier, two teams comprising police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Army personnel were deployed from Pandukeshwar and Joshimath to search for the missing helicopter carrying six people, including a pilot and five passengers, Chamoli Superintendent of Police (SP) Surjeet Singh Panwar said on Friday.

In a self-recorded video statement, Panwar said the Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter took off from the Badrinath civil helipad for Sahastradhara helipad on October 30 at approximately 1:12 PM. Its transmission link with the radar was lost near Joshimath at 1:14 PM.

"A helicopter belonging to Trans Bharat Aviation took off from the Badrinath civil helipad, bound for the Sahastradhara helipad, today, October 30, at approximately 1:12 PM. At 1:14 PM, its transmission link with the radar was lost near Joshimath," he said.

According to the SP, personnel at a nearby Army post reported seeing the helicopter heading into the valley, approximately one kilometre above the Bhandakand Temple near Pandukeshwar.

"According to personnel at a nearby Army post, the helicopter was observed heading into the valley, about 1 kilometre above the Bhandakand Temple near Pandukeshwar."

Search and rescue operations are currently underway," Panwar said, adding that a drone had also been deployed from Gopeshwar to assist in the operation. We have dispatched two teams-one from the direction of Pandukeshwar and the other from Joshimath-comprising police, SDRF, and Army personnel. Search and rescue operations are currently underway," he said.

He added that the helicopter was carrying pilot Himanshu Sabharwal, a resident of Delhi, along with five passengers from Karnataka.

"The helicopter was carrying a pilot, Himanshu Sabharwal from Delhi, along with five passengers from Karnataka. A comprehensive search is being conducted. A drone has also been deployed from Gopeshwar to assist in the search and rescue efforts. We will provide updates as soon as any preliminary information becomes available," he added. (ANI)