Missing Manang helicopter with six people aboard crashes in Nepal

A private commercial helicopter with six people aboard including five Mexican nationals that went missing near the Mount Everest area in Nepal on Tuesday has crashed in a hilly terrain in the country's eastern region, officials said.

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 crashed in the Lamjura area of Likhupike Rural Municipality in the remote mountainous Solukhumbu district. A detailed report is yet to come as a rescue operation is underway, said a senior official at TIA.

The official said the locals have informed him that the helicopter crashed with a loud explosion and they saw fire at the crash site.

"The locals discovered the crashed helicopter at Chihandanda," rural municipality deputy chair Nwang Lhakpa was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post newspaper.

The last location of the chopper was tracked at 10:12 am in the Lamjura Pass area, said Raju Neupane, operation and safety manager of Manang Air.

Local police have been mobilised in the area. Two helicopters sent earlier to locate the crash site had to return due to bad weather, the senior airport official said, adding that the exact reason behind the crash is not known yet.

Five Mexican nationals and pilot Chet B Gurung were aboard the helicopter.

According to My Republica news portal citing sources, the bodies of five of the six people on board the helicopter were found at the crash site.

Earlier, TIA spokesperson Teknath Sitaula told My Republica news website, "It has been reported that the helicopter of Manang Air is out of contact, there is no contact with the tower when it reached the Lamjura pass, it was reported that the helicopter only received a 'hello' message on Viber, the search is underway".

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 the 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.