Six people were killed in a helicopter crash near Mt. Everest in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district Tuesday morning. The helicopter flight, which was operated by Manang Air as part of their Nepal peaks sightseeing tours, lost contact less than 10 minutes into its flight from Solukhumbu to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. Rescuers recovered all six bodies, which included five Mexican tourists and the Nepali pilot.
Although inclement weather is a consistent issue for aviation in the region, a Manang Air spokesperson discounted it as a factor in the crash.
“The weather was not bad,” they said. “Now we can’t say what caused the crash. It will have to be investigated.”
However, a spokesperson from Nepal’s aviation authority claimed that two rescue helicopters from Altitude Air were forced to land some distance from the crash site due to weather conditions.
A local man named Lhakpa Sherpa joined the rescue efforts. It was “very scary,” he said. “It looks like the helicopter first collided with a tree and then slammed on the floor. It has caused a small hole in the ground.”
The pilot was identified as 55-year-old Chet B. Gurung, who has “more than 7,000 flight hours of experience working with Manang Air since 2014,” according to Manang.
Photos of a crash have made their way around TikTok, but it is impossible to verify if they’re from the same incident. A clip of a helicopter’s close call has also been shared in relation to the crash, but there is no video of this tragedy yet.
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