A helicopter carrying five pilgrims and a pilot crashed near Joshimath in India's Uttarakhand state Friday, BBC News and The Hindu report. All six people on board were killed.

The helicopter had taken off from the Hindu pilgrimage site of Badrinath, the outlets report. It was flying to Dehradun when it crashed, The Hindu reports, citing Chamoli district official Gaurav Kumar. The wreckage was found near an Army camp above Chai village, Kumar said. The five pilgrims were from Karnataka state, The Hindu reports.

The cause of the crash is not yet known, but there were reports of heavy rain and poor visibility, BBC News reports. India's weather department had issued an orange alert for thunderstorms, hail and strong winds, the outlet reports. Early reports suggest bad weather may have caused the crash, The Hindu reports. A state aviation official said the region had seen snow and rain in recent days, but flights were allowed only in good weather, the outlet reports.

Officials grounded every helicopter run by the operator, Trans Bharat Aviation, as a precaution, The Hindu reports. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered an investigation, the outlet reports. Federal air crash investigators were expected to take part.

Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state that borders China and Nepal, draws millions of pilgrims every year, BBC News reports. Badrinath is one of four sacred sites on the Char Dham pilgrimage route. Helicopter flights have become popular with pilgrims avoiding hard mountain journeys, but a string of crashes has raised safety concerns, the outlet reports. Seven people were killed in a crash near Kedarnath in June 2025, and seven more died on the same route in October 2022.

What we know: Six people died when a helicopter crashed near Joshimath after leaving Badrinath.
What we don't: What caused the crash.