One dead after two helicopters collide near Mount Everest in Nepal
Two helicopters collided on Tuesday in Nepal’s Mount Everest region as both tried to land just below base camp at Pheriche, a village at 4,200 metres (13,780 feet). Authorities confirmed that a 47-year-old Indian national was killed and that a New Zealand national and a Nepali pilot were injured. It remains unclear how many people were on the two aircraft.
Footage posted online showed more than a dozen people running to safety as the helicopters hit the ground after the collision. The area is hard to reach because there are no roads, so helicopters are routinely used to evacuate trekkers and guides who abandon their journeys because of sickness or exhaustion. Temperatures on the mountain stay below freezing.
Last week a fire broke out at a hotel along the route to Everest base camp. Heavy snowfall slowed efforts to put it out; no deaths or injuries were reported in that blaze. Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain above sea level.
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