Helicopter crashes on pilgrimage flight in India's Uttarakhand state, killing 6

A helicopter carrying five passengers and a pilot on a pilgrimage flight crashed in Uttarakhand, northern India, killing all six aboard, officials said Friday. The aircraft was returning from the Himalayan shrine of Badrinath—one of Hinduism’s holiest sites—to Dehradun, the state capital. It crashed near Chhai village close to an Indian army camp in Chamoli district, where wreckage was found. Uttarakhand civil aviation official Prateek Jain said the helicopter lost contact while crossing the Joshimath valley on Friday afternoon. Bad weather, including rain and poor visibility, hampered rescue efforts. A police officer, Surjit Singh Panwar, confirmed all six bodies were recovered. The crash renewed safety concerns in Uttarakhand, where helicopter services are widely used for Char Dham pilgrimages that typically run from April to November. Officials cited 12 helicopter crashes between 2016 and 2026 resulting in 21 deaths.