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Indian tourist is killed when two helicopters collide while landing below Nepal's Everest base camp as trekkers watch

The Everest corridor has seen repeated helicopter accidents in recent years due to the challenges of high-altitude mountain flying.
The Everest corridor has seen repeated helicopter accidents in recent years due to the challenges of high-altitude mountain flying.

Vasanth Kumar Balaramudu, a 47-year-old from Chennai, was killed when two helicopters operated by Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty collided as they simultaneously attempted to land at the Pheriche helipad, at 4,200 metres altitude. Shailesh Krishna Patel, 49, a New Zealand national aboard the Fishtail Air helicopter, was airlifted to Mediciti Hospital in Kathmandu. Pilot Rabindra Pradhan was also injured and is receiving treatment.

Footage captured by a watching tour group shows the two aircraft brushing rotor blades before one slammed upright into snow and the other crashed on its side.

Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority says preliminary findings suggest pilot miscommunication caused the crash, as the remote Pheriche area falls outside Lukla Airport's air traffic control coverage.

Fishtail Air confirmed its helicopter was carrying passengers already RESCUED from the Everest region when the collision struck at 8:12am local time.

MoreBBC NewsIndian national killed after two helicopters collide near Everest base campThe TimesEverest helicopter crash: passenger killed and two injuredDaily Mail NewsTwo tourist helicopters collide in mid-air while landing in front of tour group below Mount Everest base camp, killing one personMetroTwo helicopters crash in mid-air near Mount Everest leaving one tourist deadThe SunTourist killed and 3 injured after 2 helicopters collide during landing in NepalThe IndependentTwo tourist helicopters involved in deadly collision near Mount EverestUPIHelicopters collide near Everest, killing one and injuring twoAPHelicopters collide below Mount Everest base camp, killing 1 person and injuring 2ReutersIndian national killed after two helicopters collide in Nepal's Mount Everest region
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