Kathmandu-Bound Helicopter Crashes Near Mount Everest In Nepal, All 6 Dead

The Manang Air NA-MV chopper took off from Surke Airport in Solukhumbu district at 10:04 am for Kathmandu and suddenly lost contact at an altitude above 12,000 feet at 10:13 am.

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A private commercial helicopter belonging to the Manang Air bearing tail number NA-MV has crashed near the Mount Everest region in Nepal, confirmed officials. The helicopter took off from the Surke Airport in Solukhumbu district at 10:04 am for Kathmandu with six people aboard, including five Mexican nationals. The chopper lost contact at an altitude above 12,000 feet at 10:13 am, said Gyanendra Bhul, Manager at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), reported PTI. The officials have now confirmed that the helicopter that went missing near the Mount Everest area in Nepal on Tuesday has crashed in a hilly terrain in the country's eastern region.

Five Mexican nationals and pilot Chet B Gurung were aboard the helicopter. All the bodies of the six people on board the helicopter were found at the crash site. The helicopter crashed in the Lamjura area of the Likhupike Rural Municipality in the remote mountainous Solukhumbu district. They were returning to Kathmandu from Surke after enjoying a mountain flight. The flight was conducted from Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest, Sitaula said.

The official said the locals have informed him that the helicopter crashed with a loud explosion and they saw fire at the crash site. “The locals discovered the crashed helicopter at Chihandanda,” rural municipality deputy chair Nwang Lhakpa was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post newspaper. The last location of the chopper was tracked at 10:12 am in the Lamjura Pass area, said Raju Neupane, operation and safety manager of Manang Air. Local police have been mobilised in the area.

Two helicopters sent earlier to locate the crash site had to return due to bad weather, the senior airport official said, adding that the exact reason behind the crash is not known yet. Earlier, TIA spokesperson Teknath Sitaula told the news website, "It has been reported that the helicopter of Manang Air is out of contact, there is no contact with the tower when it reached the Lamjura pass, it was reported that the helicopter only received a 'hello' message on Viber, the search is underway”.

Nepal's Manang Air

Founded in 1997, Manang Air is a helicopter airline based in Kathmandu. It has been operating helicopters in commercial air transportation within the Nepalese territory under the Regulation of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. The company provides chartered services and is focused on personalised services such as adventure flights helicopter excursions or expedition work.

Passengers Identified

All five foreign passengers are members of a Mexican family. They have been identified as Sifuentes G. Fernando (95) and Sifuentes Rincon Ismail (98), both males, along with three females - Sifuentes Gongalez Abril (72), Gongalez Olacio Luz (65) and Sifuentes G. Maria Jese (52), MyRepublica news portal reported.

Nepal's tourist and mountaineering season ended in May. The flights carrying tourists to the mountains are less common this time of year as visibility is poor and weather conditions fickle.