New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) The Civil Aviation Ministry said on Friday that a team from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been dispatched to Dehradun for conducting the preliminary/regulatory assessment into into the tragic helicopter crash near Chai village, close to Joshimath, which killed all six on board, including the pilot.

The ministry said that a helicopter being operated by Transbharat Aviation Pvt Ltd bearing registration VT-HCX (type AS350B3) was involved in an accident and crashed in the forest area near Chai village (Joshimath).

“The helicopter got airborne from Badrinath helipad at 1314 hrs and was enroute to Sahastradhara helipad (Dehradun) with one pilot and five passengers onboard. The wreckage of the crash has been located and the search and rescue operations are under progress,” the ministry added.

Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a probe into the tragic helicopter crash.

The Chief Minister also expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and directed officials to provide all possible assistance. Chief Minister Dhami directed the concerned authorities to conduct a detailed investigation into the causes of the accident.

He said all aspects of the crash should be examined thoroughly and with utmost seriousness. The Uttarakhand CM also instructed the district administration to ensure that every possible assistance is extended to the families of the victims and that all necessary relief and support measures are provided promptly.

The bodies of all six individuals, including the pilot, have been recovered from the crash site by joint teams of the Uttarakhand Police, the State Disaster Response Force, and the Army, which swung into action for rescue and recovery operations after receiving the news of the accident.

The operation to transport all the bodies from the difficult-to-access crash site to a location connected by road is underway, officials said.

—IANS

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