Five Mexicans are said to be among the passengers on board the Manang Air helicopter 9N-AMV.
Kathmandu:
A private commercial helicopter carrying six people, including five Mexican nationals, went missing near the Mount Everest region in Nepal today, aviation officials said.
Manang Air helicopter 9N-AMV took off from Surke airport in Solukhumbu district for Kathmandu at 10:04 am. However, it suddenly lost contact at 10:13 am at an altitude of over 12,000 feet, said Gyanendra Bhul, manager of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).
According to a report in the Himalayan Times newspaper, the passengers on board the helicopter are said to be five Mexican nationals, whose identity has not yet been revealed and the pilot is Senior Captain Chet B Gurung.
“It is reported that the helicopter of Manang Air is out of contact, there is no contact with the tower, when it reached Lamjura pass, it was told that the helicopter received only ‘hello’ message on Viber, search is on, TIA spokesman Teknath Sitaula told the MyRepublica news website.
Established in 1997, Manang Air is a helicopter airline based in Kathmandu. It is operating helicopters in commercial air transport within Nepali territory under the regulation of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
The company offers chartered services and focuses on personalized services such as adventure flights, helicopter tours or expedition work.
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