Aviation authorities have confirmed that all six individuals on board a tourist helicopter in Nepal tragically lost their lives following a crash shortly after take-off in the Everest region on Tuesday.
The Manang Air flight, carrying five Mexican travelers and a Nepali pilot, was bound for Kathmandu from near Lukla, the well-known starting point for climbing expeditions to the world’s highest peak.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) revealed in a statement that the helicopter went out of contact a mere eight minutes after its take-off on Tuesday morning.
‘The six bodies have been recovered and brought to Kathmandu,’ Pratap Babu Tiwari, general manager at the Tribhuvan International Airport, stated.
The search and rescue efforts were hindered by unfavorable weather conditions, preventing the two helicopters from landing at the crash site.
‘The teams on the ground brought the bodies to the helicopters which were able to land close by,’ Tiwari said.
Lhakpa Sherpa, who took part in the search and rescue efforts as a resident of the area, described the scene as ‘very scary’.
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‘It looks like the helicopter first collided with a tree and then slammed on the floor. It has caused a small hole in the ground,’ he explained.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s office expressed their condolences and grief through a Twitter statement regarding the incident.
Nepal is witnessing a flourishing private helicopter industry that plays a crucial role in ferrying tourists and cargo to isolated pockets of the Himalayan country, where road infrastructure is limited or non-existent.
The country has a reputation for its subpar air safety standards, and the incident on Tuesday marks the latest in a series of aviation accidents.
In May, a tragic incident occurred in eastern Nepal, resulting in the loss of one life and injuries to four individuals, when a helicopter crashed following the delivery of goods for a hydroelectricity project.
The rescue and relief operations undertaken in the aftermath of Nepal’s 2015 earthquake were marred by a series of helicopter accidents, which claimed the lives of over a dozen individuals.
The Himalayan republic is no stranger to plane crashes, as it encloses remote and challenging runways surrounded by snow-capped peaks, which present a tough challenge even for experienced pilots.