6 dead in chopper crash near Mount Everest in Nepal
NEW DELHI,JULY 11 : Six people, including five Mexicans, died in a helicopter crash near Mount Everest in Nepal on Tuesday. Rescuers have located all six bodies that were “broken into pieces”, Reuters reported.
The private commercial helicopter was coming from Surke in Solukhunvhu district, home to Mount Everest and other high mountain peaks, when it lost contact 15 minutes into the flight. When the chopper tried to establish contact, it only received a ‘hello’ message on Viber.
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Captain Chet Bahadur Gurung was identified as one of the passengers by The Kathmandu Post. He has been with Manang Air for a decade and has been flying since 1998.
The helicopter was operated by Manang Air, which ferries tourists seeking a view of the country’s towering peaks, including Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain. According to reports, the chopper, returning to Kathmandu, had altered its flight route due to unfavorable weather conditions.
The chopper, with the registration number 9N-AMV, went off the radar at around 10 am in the Lamjura Pass area. Later, debris was located by the residents of a village in Lamjura in Solukhunvhu district.
The cause of the crash was not yet known. The government will set up a probe committee to investigate the chopper crash.
Nepal has a history of deadly air crashes, where several airlines fly to small airports in remote hills and mountains shrouded in clouds and cut off from roads.
-PTI
