The helicopter crashed in the rural township of Likhupike in the remote mountainous district of Solukhumbu.
kathmandu:
The five Mexican nationals who died in a helicopter crash in eastern Nepal near Mount Everest on Tuesday have visited India before touring the Himalayas for sightseeing.
The Manang Air helicopter 9N-AMV took off from Surke Airport in Solukhumbu district to Kathmandu at 10:04 a.m. on Tuesday and suddenly lost contact at 10:13 a.m. at an altitude of over 12,000 feet.
The helicopter crashed in the Lamjura area of Likhupike Rural Municipality in the remote mountainous Solukhumbu district.
The dead pilot has been identified as Captain CB Gurung, a Nepalese national. The five passengers who died in the crash – all Mexican nationals – were identified as Fernando Sifuentes (95), Abril Sifuentes Gonzalez (72), Luz Gonzalez Olacio (65), Maria Jose Sifuentes (52) and Ismael Rincon (98).
The family also visited India when one of the victims, Abril Sifuentes Gonzalez, posted a photo of herself on a social media platform in front of the Taj Mahal days before the accident on July 5.
Mexico’s ambassador to India, Federico Salas, said the victims were relatives originally from Nuevo Leon, according to Mexican News Daily.
“It was a family of five people, in fact, who were tourists. They went to Nepal. (…) They were a father and mother and three children. (…) The parents and children were adults, they were no little ones,” Salas was quoted by the Infobae Mexico.
Meanwhile, the bodies have been airlifted to Kathmandu and are being kept at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for post-mortem.
Speaking to the media in Janakpurdham, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati announced that the government would conduct a comprehensive investigation to uncover the factors that led to this unfortunate incident.
“All the passengers who died were from the same Mexican family and had flown to the Khumbu region yesterday for a mountain flight and to observe the Sherpa culture,” said Manang Air director Mukti Pandey.
Nepal’s tourist and mountaineering season ended in May. The flights that carry tourists to the mountains are less common at this time of year because visibility is poor and weather conditions are fickle.
Established in 1997, Manang Air is a helicopter airline based in Kathmandu. It has used helicopters in commercial air transport within the Nepalese territory under the regulation of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
The company offers charter services and focuses on personalized services such as adventure flights, helicopter excursions or expedition work.
Nepal has a fraught record of aviation accidents, due in part to sudden weather changes and runways on rocky terrain that is difficult to access.
According to CAAN’s record, 35 fatal helicopter crashes have occurred in Nepal.
Four helicopter crashes were reported in the country in 2023 alone.
In early May, a Simrik Air helicopter crashed in Sankhuwasabha district, tragically killing one passenger and injuring four others. Similarly, Heli Everest and Air Dynasty helicopters crashed this year, but there were no casualties.
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