A tourist helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff in Nepal on Tuesday, killing six people, including five Mexican tourists, Nepalese aviation authorities said.
The Manang Air plane took off at 10:04 am (4:19 GMT) from Surke near Lukla in the Everest region bound for the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu. However, contact was lost ten minutes after takeoff and search operations were initiated immediately.
“Six bodies were recovered from the crash site,” Gyanendra Bhul of the Civil Aviation Authority told AFP.
Photo PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP
Five Mexican tourists and a Nepalese pilot were on board the plane, Raju Neupane of Manang Air had previously told the AFP news agency.
Nepal, known for its poor flight safety, was the scene of a plane crash less than six months ago that killed 72 people.
Its snow-capped peaks and remote, hard-to-reach trails challenge even experienced pilots.
In Nepal, too, the weather changes abruptly, creating dangerous flying conditions in a country where the aviation sector suffers from a lack of training for its pilots and poor maintenance of its runways.
The European Union is concerned about this situation and has banned all Nepalese companies from entering its airspace.