A helicopter belonging to a private airline crash-landed near the Mt Everest region in Nepal on Wednesday morning due to heavy snowfall. The pilot, the only
person on board, escaped with minor injuries, according to police. The Altitude Air helicopter had taken off from Lukla without passengers and was on a mission to rescue stranded tourists in Lobuchem, situated in the Khumbu region, when the incident occurred. According to a police officer at Solukhumbu District Police Office, the chopper, piloted by Captain Vivek Khadka, slipped due to heavy snowfall in the area while attempting to land. The pilot didn't suffer any major injury, though the aircraft broke into two pieces. The pilot was airlifted to Lukla for a medical examination, and his condition is said to be stable, PTI reported. Many trekkers were stranded in mountainous areas, including Mustang, the Annapurna region and the Everest region on Tuesday and Wednesday due to heavy snowfall. Authorities have urged trekkers and mountaineers to take precautions as the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has forecast heavy snowfall and rain in different parts of the country, including the mountain region.
Heavy snowfall halts Everest tourism
The Nepali and Chinese sides of the Everest region were closed to tourism on Wednesday due to unseasonally heavy snow, and a helicopter crashed in deep snowdrifts as it tried to rescue stranded trekkers.
Visited by thousands of trekkers and climbers, the region around Mount Everest has been blanketed by snow since Monday as a cyclone from the Bay of Bengal churned across India, ushering in a second bout of severe snowfall in the Himalayas this month.
Authorities in Nepal have halted trekking on many hiking routes due to rain at lower elevations and heavy snowfall on higher trails, and have urged hikers not to venture out or proceed with their treks in the Annapurna, Manaslu and Dhaulagiri areas, home to some of the world's highest peaks.
(With PTI inputs)
