Two persons were killed and five others injured on Sunday when a Summit Air plane collided with a chopper in Nepal’s Lukla.
The incident happened in the morning hours at the Tenzing–Hillary airport of Lukla. The airport is considered the most dangerous airport in the world due to its geographic location in the high Himalayas.
According to The Himalayan Times, one of the dead was a police official while the other was the co-pilot of the airline. The deceased have been identified as Sunil Dhungana, the pilot, and Ram Bahadur Khadka, the cop.
There were no passengers onboard while the aircraft took off.
The plane was taking off for Ramechhap when it hit a parked copter after taking a wrong direction. Reports in Nepali media state that the incident happened at around 9.10 am.
The injured were airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment. The bodies of the deceased, too, have been sent for post-mortem.
Lukla airport, built in 1964, is known for strong tailwinds and short runway which make it extremely difficult for pilots to land or takeoff. But the airport is important because of its close proximity to Mount Everest base camp.
Besides Summit Air, Summit Air and Sita Air are the two other main operators. Nepal Airlines suspended operations in 2018.