Six people were killed in the crash of a missing helicopter yesterday in Nepal.
Information CNN confirmed the official representative of the international airport. It is reported that the Manang Air helicopter was carrying five passengers – citizens of Mexico (two men and three women) and a Nepalese pilot. According to the Hindustan Times, the youngest passenger who died was 52 years old and the oldest was 98 years old.
According to a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the aircraft took off for the capital Kathmandu from the Solukhumbu area where Everest is located on Tuesday morning. Eight minutes after takeoff, contact with the helicopter was lost, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said in a statement.
#Nepal helicopter carrying 6, including five Mexican nationals, crashes; all dead
Since 2010, the Himalayan destination has witnessed at least 12 fatal plane crashes, including the latest one. Read more https://t.co/shMQBuXgLI pic.twitter.com/CxmtnWr8kM
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) July 12, 2023
Six people have died in a helicopter crash in Nepal, a spokesperson for Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport saidhttps://t.co/UJVFF08xiT
— CNN International (@cnni) July 11, 2023
“Six bodies have been found and taken to Kathmandu,” Pratap Babu Tiwari, general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, told the media.
He also added that the cause of the accident has not yet been established.
Two helicopters were used for search and rescue operations, but due to weather conditions, the equipment could not land at the crash site, and the bodies of the dead were brought to the helicopter by ground.
Lhakpa Sherpa, a local resident who joined the search and rescue effort, described the crash scene as “very scary”.
“It looks like the helicopter first collided with a tree, and then crashed into the ground with such force that a hole even formed there,” he said.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed his condolences over the incident, his office said on Twitter.
सोलुखुम्बुको सुर्केबाट काठमाडौंका लागि उडेको मनाङ एयरको हेलिकोप्टर दुर्घटनामा परेको समाचारले दुखी तुल्याएको छ। दुर्घटनामा परी मृत्यु हुनुभएका यात्रुहरूप्रति भावपूर्ण श्रद्धासुमन अर्पण गर्दै शीघ्र र प्रभावकारी उद्दारका लागि नेपाल सरकारका सम्बन्धित संयन्त्रलाई निर्देशित गर्दछु।
— ☭ Comrade Prachanda (@cmprachanda) July 11, 2023
According to the source, the helicopter airline Manang Air serves tourists who want to see the peaks of Nepal, including the highest mountain in the world.