Nepal helicopter crash: Nepal has banned all ‘non-essential’ helicopter flights, including those for viewing Mount Everest, until September this year.
This move comes after six people lost their lives when their helicopter crashed after returning from viewing several mountain peaks, including Mount Everest.
The helicopter was operated by Manang Air Company and the dead included five Mexican tourists and a Nepalese pilot.
Nepal’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has said it will investigate the accident.
Lost contact
India Today says the helicopter took off from the Surke Airport in Solukhumbu district at 10:04 am for Kathmandu on Tuesday. It lost contact at 10.13 am at an altitude of 12,000 feet.
The helicopter crashed in the remote Solukhumbu district. The dead pilot was Captain Gurung.
The five dead were Fernando Sifuentes (95), Abril Sifuentes Gonzalez (72), Luz Gonzalez Olacio (65), Maria Jose Sifuentes (52) and Ismael Rincon (98).
The non-essential flights include mountain flights, external load operations (sling flights) and showering of flowers by helicopters, according to the Nepalese government.
Nepal has some of the tallest mountain peaks in the world which get engulfed in clouds during the June-September rainy season.
Low visibility during the rainy season makes flights risky and pilots struggle to take off or land when there are clouds around.
Worst crash in recent years
In January this year, 71 people lost their lives when their plane went down near the tourist city of Pokhara. This was the worst aviation crash in Nepal’s recent history.
The ill-fated flight was enroute Pokhara from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. It took off at 10.33 am on January 15 and crashed before landing at the Pokhara airport.
The crash site was in a dense wooded area near the Seti Gandaki river. The plane had 68 passengers and 4 crew members. There were 11 infants aboard.
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