The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
His last message home: Karnataka man’s smile before fatal Badrinath helicopter crash
A smile for the camera and a breathtaking view of the snow-covered Himalayas — these were the final moments 41-year-old Prathapa Bachihalli Ningaraju shared with his family before the helicopter he was travelling in crashed in Uttarakhands Chamoli district on Friday, killing all six people on board.
A Karnataka man, 41-year-old Prathapa Bachihalli Ningaraju, was among six people who died when a privately operated helicopter crashed in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district after take-off from Badrinath.
Before the flight, Prathapa recorded two videos inside the helicopter and sent them to his family, one showing a smile at the camera and the other capturing snow-covered Himalayan peaks visible from the aircraft.
The crash occurred less than two minutes after take-off as the helicopter was en route toward Sahastradhara near Dehradun, with contact lost around that time. Wreckage and bodies were later located near Chai village in the Joshimath area, with authorities confirming all on board were killed.
The helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation and bearing call sign VT-HCX, was tracked by UCADA, whose system stopped receiving location data after the loss of contact. An Army Signal Centre team and other responders found smoke rising from the aircraft as it rapidly descended.
Among the deceased were five Karnataka residents, including Arun Salunkhe, a 44-year-old inspector with Bengaluru Police’s Central Crime Branch, and four other passengers, while the pilot was Captain Himanshu Sabharwal, 48, from Delhi. Rescue operations faced difficult terrain and darkness delaying immediate retrieval.
A massive search and relief operation was launched, with police, SDRF, Army, drone teams, and UCADA aerial reconnaissance involved. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand ordered a detailed investigation and promised assistance to the victims’ families.