Home · World · Nov 3 archive
Two Helicopters Collide Near Everest Base Camp, Killing Indian Tourist
Confirmed
In Short: Two helicopters collided near Mount Everest base camp, killing an Indian tourist and injuring several others.
Two helicopters collided near Mount Everest base camp on Tuesday, resulting in the death of an Indian tourist and injuries to several others, including the pilots of both aircraft and a New Zealand passenger.
The crash occurred around 08:15 local time (02:30 GMT) in Pheriche, a village located approximately 12km south of Mount Everest Base Camp. The village is situated at an altitude of about 4,200 meters (13,780 feet), making it a challenging location for helicopter operations.
Footage of the incident showed the helicopter blades of the two aircraft clipping each other as they attempted to land at the same spot. The collision caused both helicopters to come down on the snowy ground.
Gyanendra Bhul, a spokesman for Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, said, 'It appears the accident happened when two helicopters... Attempted to land at the same spot.'
The helicopters involved belonged to Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty, two private operators serving Nepal's mountainous regions. Fishtail Air stated that its helicopter was carrying passengers rescued from the Everest region when it crashed while landing.
The injured passenger was a tourist from New Zealand, according to an official of Solukhumbu district, Bhupendra Thapa, who spoke to BBC Nepal.
The Mount Everest base camp trek lasts up to two weeks and runs from the area’s only airstrip, Lukla, to base camp at 5,300 meters. Helicopters are widely used for transport in the Himalayan nation due to its challenging terrain.
With no road access to much of the Everest region, emergency flights can be a vital link to medical care, but this accident underlines that air transfers also carry risk.
The crash comes during Nepal’s autumn trekking peak, when helicopters transport visitors and evacuate trekkers affected by altitude sickness or exhaustion.
Although an entire tourism industry has grown around climbing Mount Everest, summiting the world's tallest mountain remains a tremendously dangerous endeavor. Helicopters provide an essential transportation link in this remote region, but operating at extreme altitudes presents considerable challenges for pilots and aircraft.
The village of Pheriche, located on the trekking route to the summit of the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest, is just over 4,000m (13,120ft) above sea level. The Mount Everest base camp trek lasts up to two weeks and runs from the area’s only airstrip, Lukla, to base camp at 5300 metres, covering a distance of approximately 60km (37 miles).
Background
Three people died when two helicopters collided midair near McMinnville Municipal Airport in Oregon on Thursday.
What's confirmed
- A 47-year-old Indian tourist died in the accident.
- Two helicopters collided while landing at Pheriche, below Mount Everest base camp, on Tuesday.
What's still developing
- Man with rare condition reaches Everest base camp A beautiful Himalayan bird is changing its voice due to human activity, research shows First polls close in US midterms as survey suggests most unhappy with economy What are the US midterms?
- The number of people aboard the two helicopters was not immediately clear.
- Most journeys to Everest base camp begin at Tenzing-Hillary Airport, named after the first mountaineers to climb the mountain.
- It's pretty baffling how two helicopters could collide in completely clear conditions.
- Both helicopters immediately plummet right into the snowy terrain as people waiting on the ground scramble away.
- There are no roads on Everest, and helicopters are the only way to bring down trekkers and guides who become sick or exhausted in the cold and high altitude.
- The incident has raised fresh concerns about helicopter operations in the Himalayas, where aviation plays an important role in transporting tourists, rescuing stranded trekkers, and supporting mountaineering expeditions.
- Further details published by The Kathmandu Post identified both aircraft as Airbus AS350 helicopters.