In this file photo dated Jan 16, 2023, rescuers pull the body of a victim who died in a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. (PHOTO / AFP)
KATHMANDU — A helicopter carrying five foreign passengers and the pilot crashed in a mountain district of Nepal on Tuesday, but the fate of those aboard was not known yet, a local official said.
The ill-fated chopper belonging to the private Manang Air lost contact with the ground 15 minutes after taking off from Surke in Solukhumbu district for the capital city of Kathmandu, Solukhumbu's chief district officer Basant Bhattarai told Xinhua.
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"The helicopter has crashed in Lamjura area of the district. We have already deployed a team of security forces toward the crash site," he said.
The official added that details would be available once the security team reached the site.
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The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal tweeted that it had sent a helicopter for the rescue operation.