An Indian national was killed and two other people were injured after two helicopters collided as they prepared to land in Nepal's Mount Everest region on Tuesday, November 3, authorities said. According to Reuters, the chief district officer of Solukhumbu district, Kaman Singh Thapa Magar, said the New Zealander involved had been rescued, and that the incident took place in the Everest base camp area. The helicopters were operated by two private firms, Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty, Reuters reported. A Fishtail official said the Indian and the New Zealander on board were tourists. Further reporting by Simple Flying, citing initial reports and ABC News, said the collision happened near Pheriche village, below Mount Everest's South Base Camp, during one of Nepal's busiest trekking periods, and that a 47-year-old Indian tourist died while a passenger from New Zealand and a Nepali pilot sustained injuries. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal is investigating the collision, Simple Flying reported. Helicopters are a lifeline in Nepal's mountainous regions, ferrying trekkers, climbers and supplies between remote settlements and carrying out rescues. The same busy airspace that makes them essential also makes landing areas at high altitude, where thin air and changeable weather narrow the margin for error, especially demanding. What happens next is the investigation by Nepal's civil aviation authority, which will establish how two aircraft approaching the same landing area came into contact. The findings will be closely watched by operators and by the trekking industry, for which helicopter safety is central to the Everest season.
