At least five people died after a private commercial helicopter with 6 people on board crashed in hilly terrain in eastern Nepal on Tuesday morning. As per the police, the helicopter seems to have hit a tree on the hilltop. The Manang Air NA-MV chopper took off from Surke Airport in Solukhumbu district at 10:04 am for Kathmandu and suddenly lost contact at an altitude above 12,000 feet at 10:13 am, said Gyanendra Bhul, Manager at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).
“The helicopter has been found at the border of Likhu PK village council and Dudhkunda Municipality-2 commonly called Lamajura Danda. The villagers have retrieved the five bodies,” Koshi Province Police DIG Rajeshnath Bastola said.
"Five bodies have been recovered from the accident site and a search operation is underway," the report quoted police as saying. Five Mexican nationals and pilot Chet B Gurung were aboard the helicopter.
Founded in 1997, Manang Air is a helicopter airline based in Kathmandu. It has been operating helicopters in commercial air transportation within the Nepalese territory under the Regulation of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. The company provides chartered services and is focused on personalised services such as adventure flights helicopter excursions or expedition work.
