Nepal: Chopper Crashes in the mountain region with 7 people aboard

A domestic chopper, which was en route from Samagau of Gorkha district to Kathmandu along with seven people on board crashed in Nepal’s mountain region. According to the report, the chopper had gone missing since early morning and lost its communication since 7.45 am on local time.

According to the Himalayan Times, Nima Nuru Sherpa, managing director at Altitude Air Pvt Ltd, said that “There were six passengers including a Japanese tourist and five Nepalese on board, except one pilot in the chopper.”

The local media reported that the chopper crashed in Dhading district, which is 59 kilometres away from the Capital Kathmandu. The authorities could not confirm about further casualty as the search and rescue operation is underway.

As Samagaun is a popular trekking destination in Gorkha district, which falls on the way to Mount Manaslu Base Camp. September to October is regarded as the peak season for Manaslu expedition and trekking, which sees a huge number of foreign tourists.

“We are trying to reach the crash site by air and on foot. But the weather is hampering our rescue operations,” Kathmandu airport general manager Raj Kumar Chettri told AFP.

In 2016, seven people were killed in a helicopter crash. There were multiple helicopter accidents took place in Nepal, as it had a booming private helicopter industry flying tourists and goods to remote corners of the Himalayan nation where the road does not have access.

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