A helicopter crash in Uttarakhand resulted in the deaths of six individuals, five of whom were from Karnataka. Congress MLA H D Ranganath reported that the victims were on a private pilgrimage tour when the accident occurred. Adverse weather conditions and snowfall contributed to the crash that took place near Dehradun. The Karnataka government is coordinating with Uttarakhand authorities to repatriate the deceased.
Tumakuru: Following the death of six people in a helicopter crash near Joshimath in Uttarakhand, Congress MLA H D Ranganath said that five of the deceased were from Karnataka, including two from his own constituency, Kunigal. He said that the state government was coordinating with Uttarakhand authorities to bring back the bodies.Expressing grief over the loss, Ranganath said that the victims had gone on a private pilgrimage tour and that adverse weather conditions and snowfall were believed to have led to the accident.He said, Today, we received a distress phone call reporting that six people travelling in a chopper near Dehradun were involved in a crash, and all six people have died. Unfortunately, five of them were from Karnataka, and two were from the Kunigal constituency, which I represent as an MLA. It is deeply saddening to know that we have lost such precious lives. All these individuals had gone on a private pilgrimage tour. People often travel by road, but recently, they utilised a private company's chopper service. We learned that there was bad weather and snowfall, which led to the accident. Providing details about the ongoing coordination for the transportation of the deceased, the MLA said that the crash site had been identified and the bodies were being taken care of.He added that a team from Karnataka was travelling to Dehradun through Delhi. I was informed that everyone on board has died and there are no survivors. We are currently in communication with our representative secretaries in Delhi, and the Karnataka state government is assisting us. The Chief Minister's Office is coordinating with the Dehradun District Collector to retrieve the bodies. We just learned that the crash site has been identified and all the bodies are being taken care of. Tonight, our team is travelling to Delhi and onward to Dehradun, he said.Ranganath further said that the identification process would likely be completed by the following day, failing which DNA testing would be conducted.He also confirmed that Circle Inspector Arun Solanki, a CCB officer who had previously served in Kunigal, was among the victims. We will likely be able to identify the bodies tomorrow; if not, officials will conduct DNA testing. Today, we received a call from Dehradun confirming that post-mortems will be conducted...We also learned that a CCB officer, Circle Inspector Arun Solanki-who had previously served in Kunigal-was another passenger who tragically passed away in this crash. Our team is travelling together to ensure that the bodies are brought back to our home state, he added.Meanwhile, remembering Shankar Gowda, one of the deceased, his neighbour described him as a warm-hearted and helpful person who maintained cordial relations with everyone in the locality.The neighbour said that Gowda, a lawyer from Huliyurdurga in Kunigal, frequently travelled to Bengaluru for work and was deeply devoted to religious traditions.She said, He hailed from Huliyurdurga in Kunigal and worked as a lawyer, frequently travelling to Bangalore. Shankare Gowda was a friendly-natured person who had a good friendship with everyone and would readily respond to any problem in the area. He had immense devotion to God, fasted for nine days during Navratri, and would celebrate Ganpati and Diwali well. Meanwhile, the mortal remains of all six people, including the pilot, who died in a helicopter crash in Uttarakhand on Friday have been recovered, the Karnataka government said in a press note.According to information received from the Uttarakhand State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), the civil helicopter operated by Trans Bharat Aviation, carrying a pilot and five passengers from Karnataka, crashed at around 2 pm in the hilly terrain of the Hathi Parvat area while travelling from Badrinath to Dehradun.The Uttarakhand disaster management authorities mobilised teams from the Army, SDRF, ITBP, police, Health Department and district disaster management authorities to carry out search and rescue operations.The mortal remains are being brought to Joshimath for post-mortem examination, the press note said.
