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A helicopter crashed in central Nepal on Wednesday, killing all five people on board, including the pilot and four Chinese tourists.
Nepal has a poor aviation safety record, with the Himalayan republic experiencing a number of fatal light aircraft and helicopter crashes over the decades.
The Air Dynasty helicopter flew from the capital Kathmandu to Syabrubesi, the starting point for many hiking routes popular with tourists.
A news release from the Civil Aviation Authority said the plane lost contact about three minutes after takeoff and crashed in the Nuwakot district north of the capital.
It was reported that another helicopter was immediately dispatched to the scene of the accident for rescue.
“All five people on board, including the pilot, have been killed,” police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki told AFP.
Nuwakot district officer Ram Krishna Adhikari said five bodies have been recovered from the accident site.
“The plane crashed in a jungle area on a hillside. We don’t know yet the cause or how it happened,” he said at the crash site.
Adhikari said police and army personnel rushed to the spot after locals informed him about the crash and fire at the accident site.
Nepal’s aviation industry has boomed in recent years, carrying cargo and passengers to remote areas as well as foreign hikers and climbers.
However, due to insufficient training and maintenance, the dangerous geographical environment in Nepal’s mountainous areas has led to serious safety issues.
The Himalayan republic has some of the world’s most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks that can be a challenge even for experienced pilots.
The European Union has banned all Nepali airlines from entering its airspace due to security concerns.
Wednesday’s incident came two weeks after a plane crash in Kathmandu killed all 18 people on board except the pilot.
In 2023, a helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff in the Everest region, killing six people, including five members of a Mexican family.
Nepal’s Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari was one of the seven people killed in the 2019 helicopter crash.
The last major commercial flight accident in the country occurred in January 2023, when a Yeti Airlines flight crashed while landing in Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board.
It was the deadliest accident in Nepal since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed on approach to Kathmandu airport, killing all 167 passengers and crew on board.
Earlier that year, a Thai Airways plane crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.
Source: AFP
Posts Nepal helicopter crash kills 4 Chinese passengers and pilot First appeared in Daily News.
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