Monsoon season is the most anticipated one for most of us. This year, however, has brought some tragedies with it. With landslides in many hilly areas of India, another mishap has taken place in Nepal. A helicopter with six people on board recently vanished. On Tuesday at around 10:00 am, the helicopter with the call sign 9N-AMV lost contact with the control tower. Recently, the search team from Nepal discovered the wreckage site of the missing helicopter.
Helicopter With 6 People Onboard Went Missing
It has been reported that the helicopter likely hit a tree on the hill while flying over Lamajura Danda, a village in Nepal. As per the reports from ANI, Koshi Province Police DIG Rajeshnath Bastola revealed that five bodies were found in the village, and their identities are yet to be determined.
The private commercial helicopter was flying from Solukhumbu to Kathmandu. Five of the passengers were foreigners who are reported Mexican citizens. It vanished from view at 10:12 AM (Local Time), according to the authorities. Gyanendra Bhul, manager and information officer at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) shared that the helicopter had been travelling from Solukhumbu to Kathmandu when it lost contact with the control tower at around ten in the morning.
Bhul also shared that the helicopter is a Manang Air property. At 10:04 am, it departed for TIA from Surke Airport in the Solukhumbu district. It vanished 8-9 minutes after taking off. The helicopter abruptly lost contact at a height of more than 12,000 feet at 10:13 am. According to the Himalayan Times newspaper, senior captain Chet B Gurung was operating the aircraft.
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Search Helicopter Has Departed From Kathmandu
Manang Air helicopter 9N-AMV (AS 50) which departed from Surke (Solukhumbu) to Kathmandu at 10:05 local time is out of contact.
Total persons on board: 6
(5 passengers + 1 captain).
Altitude Air helicopter departed from Kathmandu for search and rescue.— Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (@hello_CAANepal) July 11, 2023
India.com reports that TIA spokesperson Teknath Situala stated that the search is in progress. He added that Manang Air’s helicopter is out of contact and when it reached the Lamjura pass, the helicopter only received a “hello” message on Viber. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal also tweeted to report that the Altitude Air helicopter departed from Kathmandu to search for the missing helicopter.
Manang Air is a Kathmandu-based airline that specialises in transporting helicopters. The business focuses on individualised adventure flights, helicopter excursions, or expedition work while operating helicopters within the borders of Nepal and offering chartered services.
During the monsoon season, when there are often heavy downpours, flights frequently experience delays and have their routes altered. For the missing aircraft, search operations are in progress.
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva
First Published: July 11, 2023 2:41 PM