One person was killed and two others injured when two helicopters collided while landing in the Pheriche area of Nepal, near Everest. The incident occurred on November 3 at around 08:12 local time, infohub.kz reports.
The deceased was identified as Indian national Vasant Kumar Balaramudu, who was aboard a Fishtail Air helicopter. The pilot of that aircraft and a New Zealand citizen of Indian origin were injured. The injured were taken to a hospital in Kathmandu.
According to Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, the two helicopters involved were AS350 models. Video of the incident surfaced on social media: the footage shows one aircraft descending despite warnings from ground staff and colliding with a helicopter approaching to land from the opposite direction. The rotor blades struck the windows of the passenger cabin. At the moment of the collision, both aircraft were two to three meters above the ground.
The exact cause of the incident is not yet known. Mukesh Dangol, head of Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, suggested the pilots may have misunderstood each other.
"Preliminary reports point to a misunderstanding between the pilots, since this area is outside the coverage of the air traffic control tower at Lukla airport, and the pilots have to communicate with each other," he said.
The incident comes amid disputes between helicopter companies and local residents over the large number of flights over Everest. Residents believe the aerial tours harm the ecosystem of Sagarmatha National Park and disturb the local population. It is noted that since 1966, Nepal has seen at least 22 fatal helicopter crashes.