Kathmandu: A private commercial helicopter with 6 people on board went missing near Mount Everest in Nepal while en route to Kathmandu from Solukhumbu on Tuesday.
There were reportedly five Mexican nationals on the missing chopper. The helicopter was piloted by senior captain Chet Gurung, the Himalayan Times reported.
“The Manang Air chopper 9N-AMV departed from Surke Airport in Solukhumbu district at 10.04 am for Kathmandu. However, it suddenly lost contact at an altitude above 12,000 feet at 10.13 am,” Gyanendra Bhul, Manager at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), was quoted as saying.
Manang Air helicopter 9N-AMV (AS 50) which departed from Surke (Solukhumbu) to Kathmandu at 10:05 local time is out of contact.
Total persons on board: 6
(5 passengers + 1 captain).
Altitude Air helicopter departed from Kathmandu for search and rescue.— Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (@hello_CAANepal) July 11, 2023
“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,” TIA spokesperson Teknath Sitaula told My Republica news website.
