A severe aviation accident has struck the Mount Everest region in Nepal, where two helicopters allegedly collided while attempting to land near the base camp. Local reports confirm that the disaster resulted in at least one fatality and left two other individuals with injuries, raising serious concerns regarding air traffic safety in the highly congested tourist corridor.

Digital footage circulating online supposedly depicts the immediate aftermath, showing dozens of people scrambling for safety as the aircraft impacted the ground. Authorities have verified that a 47-year-old Indian national lost his life in the crash, while a New Zealand citizen and a Nepali pilot sustained injuries. Officials have notably failed to clarify the exact manifest of passengers aboard the respective helicopters, leaving crucial details obscured. * The tragic event occurred near Pheriche village at an altitude of approximately 4,200 meters. The notoriously treacherous terrain around Mount Everest lacks basic road infrastructure, forcing expeditions to rely heavily on helicopter transport for evacuating trekkers and guides suffering from altitude sickness or extreme exhaustion under freezing conditions.

This latest calamity compounds ongoing logistical and safety challenges in the region, which recently suffered from a major hotel fire along the base camp route that was severely hampered by heavy snowfall. Critics point out that the reliance on risky aviation practices in extreme weather continues to endanger lives in Nepal's high-altitude tourism zones.

Source: www.aljazeera.com