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The bodies of the victims of the helicopter crash near Joshimath in Chamoli district have been recovered and airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh on Sunday morning.
The crash site lay in an extremely rugged, high-altitude area. Joint teams from the Indian Army, ITBP, SDRF, NDRF, the district administration, police and the Forest Department trekked up difficult mountain trails from the Pandukeshwar side, reaching the spot late in the evening. The rescue teams then carried the mortal remains 12 km on foot to the nearest road head, from where they were flown by helicopter to AIIMS Rishikesh. The bodies will be handed over to families after post-mortem examination. Karnataka MP Shreshth Patel (Hassan) said a relative was among the victims, who had gone on the Badrinath Yatra. "He told me that all of them are missing," he said. Bengaluru ASP Rajesh said Arun Solanki, an inspector posted with the Central Crime Branch, Bengaluru, was among the dead. Solanki had taken personal leave and travelled with friends to the shrine to fulfil a religious vow. "A very unfortunate incident has occurred... While they were on their way back, we suddenly received information that the helicopter had gone missing. After about half an hour, we learned that it had crashed," Rajesh told ANI. He said officials were verifying how the incident unfolded, and that the local administration and officers had been "extremely supportive." Rajesh said Patel had spoken to Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who assured that travel arrangements would be made. "The Karnataka government will airlift the mortal remains of four individuals along with their family members," he said. Solanki's father, Manohar Solanki, from Aigali village in Athani taluk, Belagavi district, also reached Uttarakhand on Sunday. The helicopter was en route from Shri Badrinath Dham in Chamoli to Dehradun when the accident occurred. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed deep sorrow over the tragic helicopter crash in the Joshimath area involving pilgrims returning from Badrinath Dham. Paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the accident, he extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Dhami also prayed to Lord Badri Vishal to grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the grieving families to bear this irreparable loss. The helicopter had gone missing on Friday after taking off from Badrinath for Dehradun. Two teams comprising police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Army personnel were deployed from Pandukeshwar and Joshimath to search for the missing helicopter carrying six people, including a pilot and five passengers, Chamoli Superintendent of Police (SP) Surjeet Singh Panwar said on Friday. In a self-recorded video statement, Panwar said the Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter took off from the Badrinath civil helipad for Sahastradhara helipad on October 30 at approximately 1:12 PM. Its transmission link with the radar was lost near Joshimath at 1:14 PM. (ANI)
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