Kathmandu, July 11: The helicopter of Manang Air, which flew from Solukhumbu to Kathmandu, has lost contact. On Tuesday morning, the Manang Air helicopter that flew to Kathmandu with 5 passengers from Surke helipad in Solukhumbu lost contact.
The helicopter with the call-sign of 9N AMV from Surke in Solukhumbu lost contact after 10:12 in the morning.
According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) co-spokesman Gyanendra Bhul, there were 5 foreign passengers including the pilot Chet Bahadur Gurung in the helicopter that took off from Surki at 9:52.
Manang Air helicopter 9N-AMV (AS 50) which departed from Surke (Solukhumbu) to Kathmandu at 10:05 local time is out of contact.
Total persons on board: 6
(5 passengers + 1 captain).
Altitude Air helicopter departed from Kathmandu for search and rescue.— Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (@hello_CAANepal) July 11, 2023
Due to the bad weather at Lukla airport, the helicopter that had gone from Kathmandu landed in Surke. Passengers were brought to Surke by vehicle and flown to Kathmandu.
Sagar Kandel, ATC officer of Tenzing Hillary Airport Lukla, said that the helicopter was in contact till Lamajuradanda and the communication was lost after handover to Kathmandu tower.