5 Mexican tourists and a Nepali pilot die in a helicopter crash near Everest

Five Mexican tourists and a Nepalese pilot have died when the helicopter in which they were traveling crashed in the vicinity of Mount Everest, in Nepal.

At the moment, the causes of the accident, which occurred this Tuesday in the Likkhu area, north of Kathmandu, the capital of the country, are unknown.

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The Nepalese authorities have been able to recover the bodies of the six occupants of the helicopter, according to the Reuters agency. The aircraft was operated by Manang Aira company specialized in flying tourists to see the peaks of the Himalayas, including Everest.

The helicopter was heading back to Kathmandu from the Solukhumbu district, home to the world’s highest mountain, and one of the areas from which the vast majority of Himalayan visitors begin their journey.

Nepalese authorities told AFP, contact with the helicopter was lost about 10 minutes after takeoff at 10:04 in the morning (04:19 GMT). Two helicopters and teams on the ground were deployed for the search and rescue operation.

However, all the occupants of the vehicle had died in the accident.

Investigation

“The weather conditions did not allow the helicopters to land near the crash site,” Gyanendra Bhul, a spokesman for the Nepalese civil authority, told AFP, explaining that the teams had to travel on foot to recover the bodies.

As a local official from the region where the aircraft went down, Sita Adhikari, told Reuters, “the bodies have been torn to pieces.”

“We heard the sound of the helicopter. We couldn’t see it because of the clouds. Then it crashed into a tree one kilometer from our house,” a neighbor in the area told the BBC’s Nepali service.

The airline has ensured that the helicopter took off in good weather. “The weather was not bad, but we cannot say what caused the accident. It will have to be investigated,” said Raju Neupane, a spokesman for Manang Air.

Nepal has a booming helicopter tour industrywhich allow travelers to reach areas that are inaccessible by road.

However, these flights do not always take place in optimal safety conditions, which has caused numerous accidents in recent years.

The region also boasts some of the world’s most dangerous airstrips, ringed by snow-capped peaks and buffeted by strong winds, testing pilots’ skills.

Last January, a flight operated by Yeti Airlines crashed in the west of the country, killing 72 people.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.