Updated October 31, 2026, 04:42 PKT (23:42 UTC October 30): Reuters reports that all six people aboard a helicopter died when it crashed in Uttarakhand on Friday, October 30. Its report cites news agency ANI quoting Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority chief executive Prateek Jain.
The reported death toll comprises five passengers and the pilot. The flight was travelling from Badrinath to Dehradun and lost communication over the Joshimath valley, according to the UCADA account carried in the report. Read the Reuters report published by The Express Tribune.
In an earlier statement, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reported a helicopter crash near Chai village, close to Joshimath in Chamoli district, on Friday, October 30, 2026. He said the district administration, disaster management department and State Disaster Response Force were conducting a joint rescue operation.
Official response and timeline
Dhami’s original public statement was posted at 14:49 Indian Standard Time (09:19 UTC). That is the statement’s publication time; it does not establish the exact time of the crash.
He said he was monitoring the response and had directed that anyone seriously injured be airlifted to a higher-level medical centre. Those instructions do not confirm how many people were injured or establish the condition of those on board.
Read the chief minister’s original October 30 statement in Hindi.
Investigation and remaining questions
The chief minister’s earlier post did not give a casualty total; the later death-toll report above is separately attributed to Reuters and ANI. The cause remains unestablished. Flyzeu has not verified a current Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau finding for this event. Additional aircraft and operator details and the scope of any regulatory action are being withheld here pending verification of the original official statement.
Documented regional safety context
In a separate September 18, 2025 release, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation described DGCA inspections before Char Dham helicopter services resumed after the monsoon break. Following accidents in May–June 2025, the measures included air traffic controllers, meteorological officers and qualified UCADA control-room personnel.
That earlier regional safety programme does not establish the cause of the October 30 crash or whether any procedure was followed on this flight.
Sources: Reuters via The Express Tribune; the chief minister’s original statement; Ministry of Civil Aviation, September 18, 2025; AAIB’s published investigation index.
