Rescue team dispatched as aircraft sustains damage in Everest region
KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 29
A helicopter belonging to Altitude Air crash-landed in Lobuche, near the Everest region, on Wednesday morning.
According to Nima Nuru Sherpa, Chair of Altitude Air, the Airbus B3 helicopter, piloted by instructor Captain Bibek Khadka, met with an accident while attempting to land.
"Captain Khadka is safe," Sherpa said, adding that a Kailash Helicopter had been mobilized for rescue operations.
Eyewitnesses reported that no casualties were sustained, though the aircraft suffered significant damage upon impact.
According to a press release issued by Altitude Air later this morning, the helicopter, registration 9N-AMS, had taken off from Lukla Airport at 7:41 a.m. to rescue stranded foreign tourists in Lobuche. The aircraft crashed at 7:52 a.m. while attempting to land.
The captain is being brought to Kathmandu now, the press release stated.
Editor's Note: This report will be updated as more details become available from civil aviation and rescue authorities; changes rescue helicopter name to Kailash
