World

Six dead after helicopter carrying Mexican tourists crashes in Nepal

A helicopter has crashed near Mount Everest (Alamy/PA)
A helicopter has crashed near Mount Everest (Alamy/PA) A helicopter has crashed near Mount Everest (Alamy/PA)

Six people have been killed after a helicopter carrying foreign tourists crashed near Mount Everest in Nepal.

The helicopter crashed in the Lamajura area. All the bodies were recovered and flown out of the area, said Basanta Bhattarai, the chief government administrator in the area.

All five tourists were Mexican nationals – two men and three women – and the pilot was Nepalese, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said.

Nepal Helicopter
Nepal Helicopter The helicopter was carrying five foreign tourists on a sightseeing tour to the world’s highest peak (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)

The aircraft was returning to the capital Kathmandu on Tuesday morning after taking the tourists on a sightseeing trip to the world’s highest peak.

Airport official Sagar Kadel said weather conditions had caused changes to be made to the helicopter’s planned flight route.

It is common for flights to be delayed and routes changed during the monsoon season amid heavy rains.

The tourist and mountaineering season ended in May with the onset of the rainy season and tourist flights to the mountains are less common this time of year as visibility is poor and weather conditions become unpredictable.