Indian national killed as helicopters collide near Mount Everest in Nepal

An Indian national was killed and three others, including a New Zealand resident of Indian origin, were injured in a helicopter crash in Nepal. The two helicopters collided while attempting to land near Mount Everest in Nepal on Tuesday morning.The accident took place at around 8.11am (local time) at Pheriche in Ward 4 of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality in Solukhumbu district.A video of the incident has captured the moment the two aircraft collided, highlighting the dangers of helicopter operations in the busy Everest region.Nepal Police confirmed the casualties from the accident in a statement. They said, "Solukhumbu accident further update: One person dead, three injured"Police identified the deceased as 47-year-old Vasanth Kumar Balaramaramadu, an Indian national travelling aboard the Fishtail Air helicopter. His body was taken to a hospital in Lukla.49-year-old Shailesh Krishna Patel, an Indian-origin resident of New Zealand, was also injured who was travelling aboard the Fishtail Air helicopter. He was airlifted to Mediciti Hospital in Kathmandu by a Prabhu helicopter, police inspector Mausam Tamang said.The other two injured pilots were identified as Rabindra Prajapati of Fishtail Air and Prajwal KC of Air Dynasty. Both were taken to Kathmandu for further treatment.Who were injured in the collision?Three people were injured in the accident, including two pilots and a passenger.Police inspector Mausam Tamang identified the injured passenger as Shailesh Krishna Patel, a 49-year-old Indian-origin resident of New Zealand. He was travelling aboard the Fishtail Air helicopter along with Balaramaramadu.Patel was airlifted to Mediciti Hospital in Kathmandu for treatment in a Prabhu helicopter, Tamang said.The two injured Nepali pilots were identified as Rabindra Prajapati of Fishtail Air and Prajwal KC of Air Dynasty. Both were taken to Kathmandu for further medical treatment.Who were inside the helicoptersFishtail Air said its helicopter was carrying tourists who had been rescued from the Everest region when it crashed while attempting to land. A company official confirmed that Balaramaramadu and Patel were among the passengers.The Air Dynasty helicopter, meanwhile, was carrying cargo, according to an official from the company.Solukhumbu chief district officer Kaman Singh Thapa Magar confirmed the collision to Reuters and said the injured New Zealand passenger had been rescued.Police have yet to confirm the total number of people aboard the two helicopters at the time of the accident.Where did the accident take place?Pheriche is a settlement along the route to the Mount Everest base camp, around 150 km north-east of Kathmandu. It is an important stop for trekkers and climbers heading towards the world's highest mountain.The collision occurred during Nepal's peak trekking season, when helicopter services are widely used to ferry tourists, mountaineers and rescued trekkers across the Everest region.The exact cause of the collision remains unclear. Police said they were collecting further details about the incident.Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) deputy spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul said that the helicopters were approaching the landing area from different directions when the accident occurred, BBC Nepali reported.According to Bhul, one helicopter was travelling from Lukla, while the other was returning from Gorakhpur, near the Everest base camp. Both reportedly attempted to land at the same spot."It appears that the accident occurred when helicopters travelling from Lukla and returning from Gorakhpur, near the base camp, tried to land at the same place," Bhul said.The exact cause of the collision remains unclear. However, preliminary information suggests that snow-covered helipads may have played a role in the accident."It looks like they tried to land on one of the other helipads, perhaps because it was covered in snow, even though there were other helipads," he said.The authorities have not yet released further details about the identities of those involved or the circumstances leading to the collision.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.