Chopper crashes in Nepal; Japanese among 6 killed

A helicopter with seven people on board crashed in a dense forest area in Nepal on Saturday, killing six of them including a foreigner.

A woman has miraculously survived the accident.

The Altitude Air helicopter, which had gone missing since morning, crash-landed in the forest area bordering Dhading and Nuwakot districts, according to eyewitnesses.

The wreckage of the ill-fated chopper piloted by senior captain Nishchal K C with six passengers, including a Japanese trekker, was spotted in a remote location in Nuwakot district, said Nima Nuru Sherpa, Managing Director at Altitude Air Private Limited, the Himalayan Times reported.

Rescuers recovered six bodies, the report quoted Sherpa as saying.

Senior captain Nischal KC was among the deceased. The Japanese national who was killed in the accident was identified as Hiromi Komatsu, 68, it said.

The woman, who was rescued alive, has suffered injuries to her body, the report said.

The helicopter which took off for Kathmandu airlifting a patient along with other passengers from Samagaun in Gorkha lost radio contact with Kathmandu tower after flying some 32 kms at around 8:10 AM (local time), a source at Tribhuvan International Airport said.

Sherpa said that the crashed chopper had not caught fire. Adverse weather conditions and difficult terrain delayed the rescue effort. A Nepal Army helicopter and a private chopper along with rescuers had reached the spot.