Nepal: Hit by helicopter blade, Indian pilgrim dies

In a freak accident, an Indian Kailash Mansarovar pilgrim died on Tuesday after being hit by the rear blade of a helicopter at a remote helipad in Nepal's Hilsa region, an Indian embassy official said.

The deceased, identified as 42-year-old Kartik Nagendra Kumar Mehta, a resident of Mumbai, was rushing to board the helicopter and accidentally hit its spinning tail rotor, the official told PTI.

He died on the spot.

It was a very sad incident and the Indian mission is coordinating with tour operators and ensuring all possible support, the official added.

According to My Republica, the deceased was beheaded with the tail rotor of the Manang Air helicopter (Manang-9N-AMV).

Assistant chief district officer Mahesh Kumar Pokharel said that the helicopter was on the ground at the time of the incident. The rear part of the helicopter was damaged.

The body will be taken to Simikot for a post-mortem and to hand over to the next to kin.

Nepal's Simikot and Hilsa are connected to the rest of the world only by small aircraft or helicopters and there is no other way to travel in and out of these places.

The pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibetan region of China is considered holy by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. Every year, hundreds of Indians undertake the 'yatra' which involves trekking under inhospitable conditions.