KATHMANDU – An Indian passenger was killed and three people were injured when two helicopters collided while attempting to land near Mount Everest in Nepal on Tuesday, November 3, police said.
The collision occurred at the Pheriche helipad in Solukhumbu district, at an altitude of about 4,200 metres. ABC News, citing Nepal Police, reported that both pilots were among the injured.
Police identified the passenger who died at the scene as Vasanth Kumar Balaramudu, from Chennai, India. A second passenger, Shailesh Krishan Patel of New Zealand, was seriously injured and airlifted to Nepal Mediciti Hospital in Kathmandu, according to the report.
An Air Dynasty cargo helicopter was travelling from Lukla with only its pilot aboard. The other aircraft, operated by Fishtail Air, was returning from Everest base camp carrying its pilot and two foreign passengers. Both were approaching the Pheriche landing site.
The Fishtail pilot was taken to a hospital near Kathmandu, while the Air Dynasty pilot received treatment in Lukla, police told ABC News.
Reuters’ earlier account confirmed the Indian passenger’s death and an injured New Zealander. ABC News’s fuller police-attributed tally also included the pilots.
Neither account establishes the cause of the collision. The fact that both aircraft were approaching the helipad does not, by itself, establish pilot error or an air-traffic coordination failure.
