Two helicopters collided while landing, 1 dead

Two helicopters collided while landing at Pheriche in Ward 4 of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, Solukhumbu district

Two helicopters collided while landing, 1 dead: Two helicopters collided in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district on Tuesday morning. The incident happened during landing at a helipad.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the rotor blades of the two aircraft struck each other as they approached the helipad to land. The collision involved helicopters operated by Fishtail Air and Dynasty Air at the Pheriche helipad. Pheriche lies on the way to the Mt Everest Base Camp, 150 km northeast of Kathmandu.

Two helicopters collided while landing at Pheriche in Ward 4 of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, Solukhumbu district, on Tuesday, according to a Nepal Police statement. The helicopters, operated by Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty, collided at about 8.11 am (local time), according to the District Police Office, Solukhumbu.

The deceased has been identified as 47-year-old Indian national, Vasant Kumar Balara Madu. The body was brought to Lukla aboard a Prabhu Air helicopter.

The injured passenger has been identified as Shailesh Kishan Patel, a 53-year-old New Zealand citizen of Indian origin.

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CCTV footage of two helicopters hitting each other is surfacing on social media.  Further details are awaited.