Helicopter goes missing near Mount Everest, 6 including 5 foreign nationals onboard

A helicopter with 6 people on board has gone missing in Nepal. The helicopter (call sign 9N-AMV) lost communication with the control tower on Tuesday morning at around 10:00 am. 

The private commercial helicopter was on its way from  Solukhumbu to Kathmandu. It had 5 foreigners on board, identified as Mexican nationals. It went off the radar at 10:12 AM (Local Time), authorities informed. 

“The chopper was en route to Kathmandu from Solukhumbu and got disconnected with the control tower at around 10 in the morning,” Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Manager and Information Officer Gyanendra Bhul was quoted as saying.

The chopper belongs to Manang Air. It departed from Solukhumbu district’s Surke Airport at 10:04 am for TIA. It went missing 8-9 minutes after taking off. The chopper suddenly lost contact at an altitude above 12,000 feet at 10:13 am, Bhul added. 

Senior captain Chet B Gurung was piloting the aircraft, as per the Himalayan Times newspaper. 

"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 was quoted as telling My Republica news website.

The helicopter airline Manang Air was founded in 1997 and is based in Kathmandu. The company operates helicopters within the Nepalese territory and provides chartered services, focusing on personalised adventure flights, helicopter excursions or expedition work.

(Inputs from ANI, PTI)