Helicopter crash in Nepal kills 5, leaves 1 missing

KATHMANDU, Nepal – A helicopter flying in bad weather crashed in Nepal’s mountains on Saturday, killing five of the seven people on board and leaving another missing, police said.

The pilot and four of the six passengers, including a 68-year-old Japanese man, were among those killed, said police official Basanta Kuwar. Another passenger was missing, while a woman survived the crash, he said. The woman’s condition was not immediately clear.

Rescuers were scouring the area for the missing person but thick fog and rain and the mountainous terrain were making the operation difficult, Kuwar said.

Aside from the Japanese man, the six others aboard the helicopter were Nepalese.

The area where the crash happened is about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital.

The Airbus-manufactured Ecureuil helicopter belongs to Altitude Air in Nepal and has been used in mountain rescues.