A helicopter collision near Mount Everest in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district has claimed the life of an Indian tourist and left three others injured.
The incident took place at around 8:11 AM on Tuesday, when helicopters operated by Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty collided while landing at the helipad in Pheriche, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality-4.
Nepal Police has identified the deceased as 47-year-old Vasant Kumar Balramudu, a resident of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was aboard the Fishtail Air helicopter and died at the scene. His body was subsequently airlifted to Lukla by a Prabhu Air helicopter.
The 3 injured have been identified as 49-year-old Selishkumar Patel, a resident of New Zealand, and the 2 pilots — Ravindra Prajapati of Fishtail Air and Prajal K.C. of Air Dynasty.
Patel and Prajapati were airlifted to Mediciti Hospital in Kathmandu for treatment, while Air Dynasty pilot Prajal K.C. is receiving treatment at Nicole Nikki Hospital in Lukla. His condition is reported to be normal.
(Arvind Jain is a Special Correspondent with Prasar Bharati)
