Helicopter with six people aboard including five Mexican nationals with pilot went missing near the Mount Everest area in Nepal on Tuesday. The helicopter crashed in a steep part of the country’s eastern division, according to officials. Gyanendra Bhul, Manager at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), reported that the Manang Air NA-MV helicopter abruptly lost touch at an altitude above 12,000 feet at 10:13 am after departing Surke Airport in Solukhumbu district at 10:04 am for Kathmandu.
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”.
The helicopter with the call sign 9NMV got off the radar at 10:12 AM (Local Time). There were 5 foreign nationals on the missing chopper.
The helicopter crashed in the Lamjura area of Likhupike Rural Municipality in the remote mountainous Solukhumbu district, though a detailed report is yet to come as a rescue operation is going on, as per TAI official.
Five of the six persons who were aboard their bodies were discovered at the crash site, the news portal MyRepublica reported, citing sources.
Local Police is deployed at the accident site. The senior airport official stated that two helicopters sent earlier to find the crash site had to return due to severe weather, the main reason behind crash is unknown yet.
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