KATHMANDU, JULY 11

In a devastating incident, Manang Air helicopter 9N-AMV (ASSO), which had gone missing today at 10:13am, was found crashed near Lamjura in Ward No 5 of the Solukhumbu district.

Local residents and police, who arrived at the crash site, discovered that all six individuals on board, including the pilot, had tragically lost their lives, said Director of Manang Air, Mukti Pandey.

'The ill-fated chopper had departed from Surke Airport en route to Kathmandu, with a scheduled departure time of 10:05am. However, at 10:13am all communication with the helicopter was suddenly lost while it was flying at an altitude exceeding 12,000 feet. The helicopter was discovered in a difficult-to-reach region of Likhupike, approximately 3,500 metres above sea level,' he added.

The deceased pilot has been identified as Captain CB Gurung, a Nepali national. The remaining passengers were Mexicans: Sifuentes G Ferando, Gonzalez Abric, Gonzalez Olacio Luz, Sifuentes G Maria Jose, and Rincon Ismael.

'All the deceased passengerswere from the same Mexican family and had flown to the Khumbu region yesterday for mountain flight as well to observe Sherpa culture,' Pandey informed.

According to Gyanendra Bhul, information officer at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the bodies have been airlifted to Kathmandu and are kept at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for post-mortem in two phases. In the first phase, four bodies were brought in while the remainingtwo were transported in the next flight.'

Speaking to the media during the Nepal Vidyapati Maithili award ceremony in Janakpurdham, Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Minister Sudan Kirati announced that the government would conduct a comprehensive investigation to uncover the factors that led to this unfortunate incident.

According to the record of CAAN, 35 fatal helicopter crashes have occurred in Nepal.

In 2023 alone, four helicopter crashes were reported in the country.

In early May, a Simrik Air helicopter crashed in Sankhuwasabha district resulting in the tragic death of one passenger, while four others sustained injuries. Likewise, Heli Everest and Air Dynasty helicopters crashed this year, but there was no casualty.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 12, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.