KATHMANDU: A chopper flying in bad weather crashed in Nepal's mountains on Saturday, killing six of the seven people on board while one woman miraculously survived.
The wreckage of the ill-fated chopper piloted by senior captain Nishchal K C with six passengers, including a Japanese trekker, was spotted in a remote location in Nuwakot district, said Nima Nuru Sherpa, Managing Director at Altitude Air Private Limited, the Himalayan Times reported.
Rescuers recovered six bodies, the report quoted Sherpa as saying.
Senior captain Nischal KC was among the deceased. The Japanese national who was killed in the accident was identified as Hiromi Komatsu, 68, it said.
The woman, who was rescued alive, has suffered injuries to her body, the report said.
The helicopter which took off for Kathmandu airlifting a patient along with other passengers from Samagaun in Gorkha lost radio contact with Kathmandu tower after flying some 32 kms at around 8:10 AM (local time), a source at
Tribhuvan International Airport said.
Sherpa said that the crashed chopper had not caught fire. Adverse weather conditions and difficult terrain delayed the rescue effort. A Nepal Army helicopter and a private chopper along with rescuers had reached the spot.
Aside from the Japanese man, all others aboard the helicopter were Nepalese.
The Kathmandu-bound Altitude Air helicopter was carrying six passengers when it lost contact with air traffic control after taking off from the western district of Gorkha.
The area of the crash is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of the capital Kathmandu.
Nepal has a booming private helicopter industry, flying tourists and goods to remote corners of the Himalayan nation where road access is limited or non-existent.
But the impoverished country has a poor air safety record due to poorly trained staff and lacklustre maintenance.
In 2016, seven people were killed in a helicopter crash 22 kilometres (14 miles) north of the capital.
There were multiple helicopter accidents, claiming over a dozen lives, in the wake of a powerful 2015 earthquake when choppers were used to rescue the injured and deliver aid to communities cut off by the disaster.
The European Union banned all Nepalese airlines following international alarm over the country's air safety record.
(With inputs from Agencies)
The Airbus manufactured Ecureuil helicopter belongs to Altitude Air in Nepal and has been used in mountain res... Read More
