NEW DELHI: A helicopter with six people onboard crashed near Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district while travelling from Badrinath to Dehradun. One pilot and five passengers were on board the chopper. The wreckage of a helicopter has been found.

The helicopter, reportedly operated by Charlie X-ray Company, was reported missing near Hathi Parvat, prompting authorities to deploy two other choppers to locate it.

Police, SDRF, Army and ITBP personnel have been dispatched to the site for relief and rescue operations, officials told PTI.

"At 14.21hrs, information was received from the SDM Joshimath regarding the crash landing of a helicopter above Chai village in the Joshimath area. In this regard, UCADA officials stated that the location of a Trans Bharat helicopter, which was flying from Badrinath to Sahastradhara, is showing near the Army Camp above Chai village," Sub-Inspector Manohar Kanyal, Joshimath Post told news agency ANI.

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said the aircraft crashed near Chayee village, close to Joshimath, and that a joint rescue operation was underway involving the district administration, disaster management department and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

“We have received the unfortunate news of a helicopter crash near Chayee village, close to Joshimath. A joint rescue operation is being conducted by the district administration, disaster management department, and SDRF,” Dhami wrote in a post on X.

He added that he was personally monitoring the situation and that instructions had been issued to airlift the seriously injured to advanced medical facilities for treatment.