They often travelled together: Friends recall close bond shared by five Karnataka victims

Five friends from Karnataka, including a police inspector, lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Chamoli district on Friday. The sixth victim was the pilot from Delhi. The deceased include inspector Arun Salunke, businessman Prathapa Bachihally Ningaraju, advocates Sudheer K and Shankargowda VB, and H S Nataraj. They were part of a group of friends traveling to Uttarakhand for the Char Dham pilgrimage.

The helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation, crashed around 2 pm in the Hathi Parvat area while flying from Badrinath to Dehradun. Rescue teams from the Army, State Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, police, health department and district disaster management authorities recovered the bodies and are transporting them back to Karnataka.

Friends of the deceased described their close bond and shared plans for the pilgrimage. They had been in regular communication via social media, but this time, no updates were posted. The families have been informed about the tragedy.