The key facts

  • Two helicopters collided while landing in Pheriche at around 08:15 local time
  • A 47-year-old tourist from India was killed; a 53-year-old New Zealand citizen was injured
  • Both pilots survived; the injured were evacuated to Kathmandu

Collision during landing

On Tuesday morning, at around 08:15 local time, two helicopters collided while approaching to land at the helipad of the village of Pheriche in the Solukhumbu district, roughly 12 km south of Everest Base Camp. One aircraft belonged to Fishtail Air, the other, carrying cargo, to Air Dynasty. The crash was reported by Anadolu and BBC News; verified footage cited by the BBC, shows the machines' rotor blades striking each other during descent.

Casualties and injuries

According to Fishtail Air, a passenger aboard its helicopter was killed — the company named him Vasanth Kumar Balaramudu; another passenger and the pilot were injured. Gyanendra Bhul, a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, told the BBC that, according to the preliminary picture, the accident occurred when the two helicopters attempted to land at the same spot. The Solukhumbu district police provided further details: a 47-year-old tourist from India died at the scene, while an injured 53-year-old New Zealand citizen was evacuated to Kathmandu for treatment — AFP attributes this to district police chief Nabin Raj Buda Thapa as retold by euronews. According to the same reports, both pilots survived; Air Dynasty had one crew member on board, who was unharmed, as the company itself stated. The injured and the crew were taken to the capital, and preparations were under way to send the victim's body there as well; a Simrik Air helicopter was dispatched to the crash site.

Context

Pheriche lies on the Everest trekking route at an altitude of just over 4,000 m; the autumn climbing season for Everest and Ama Dablam is currently under way in the region. Helicopters are widely used in Nepal to carry tourists, cargo and for evacuations, but difficult terrain and rapidly changing weather make flights risky. In the footage of the incident the weather appears clear, with no visible signs of strong wind; one aircraft, judging by the footage, was descending faster than the other — this is how the BBC describes the recording. The causes of the crash have not been definitively stated in the reports: the regulator's official wording is limited to saying that both helicopters were landing at the same spot.