Uttarakhand helicopter crash: How Char Dham trip turned tragic for 5 Bengaluru friends
The helicopter, flying from Badrinath to Dehradun, lost contact with ATC after taking off at 1:14 pm
A private helicopter carrying five friends from Bengaluru, who had travelled to Uttarakhand for the Char Dham pilgrimage, crashed in the Joshimath Valley of Uttarakhand.
Six people, including Bengaluru's Central Crime Branch (CCB) Police Inspector Arun Salunke, lost their lives in the tragic accident.
Helicopter loses contact with ATC
The helicopter belonged to Trans Bharat Aviation (call sign VT-HCX), and was operating from Badrinath to Sahastradhara, Dehradun. It took off at 1:14 PM. While flying over Joshimath, it suddenly lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC).
With no information coming from the helicopter's GPS or tracking systems, officials immediately launched a search operation. The chopper crashed into a hillside near the JP Power House near Marwari Bridge around 2.20 pm, officials said.
Also read: Uttarakhand helicopter crashes: 21 dead across Char Dham in 9 years
The deceased have been identified as: Captain Himanshu Sabharwal (48 years) – pilot from Delhi, Arun Salunke (44) – CCB police inspector, Sudhir K (49), HS Nataraj (51), Pratap B Ningaraju (41), and Shankare Gowda (39) – advocate. Details about the deceased are still awaited. All five friends had travelled together for the Char Dham pilgrimage.
Search and rescue operation
Teams from the Indian Army, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the Chamoli district administration rushed to the accident site and completed the search and rescue operation. Immediately after the accident, authorities ordered the temporary suspension of all helicopter operations belonging to Trans Bharat Aviation as a precautionary measure.
Who was Arun Salunke?
Arun Salunke, hailed from Belagavi, completed his education at the MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology (MSRIT) in Bengaluru. He was serving as an officer in the Karnataka Police Department. During his career, he worked as an inspector at several police stations, including Halasuru Police Station in Bengaluru, and had also served in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). However, his interests extended beyond maintaining law and order.
Alongside his professional responsibilities, he was also active on social media as a digital content creator.
Through his Facebook and Instagram profiles, he regularly shared Kannada literature, his own poems, and appreciative writings about veteran personalities from the film industry. Through these activities, he had earned a considerable following and admirers.
(This article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka)