At least 5 dead after helicopter carrying foreign tourists crashes near Mount Everest in Nepal

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — At least five people were killed after a helicopter carrying foreign tourists crashed Tuesday near Mount Everest in Nepal, and one other person on the aircraft was still missing.

The helicopter crashed in the Lamajura area and rescuers had recovered the bodies of five people and were searching for the sixth, said Basanta Bhattarai, the chief government administrator in the area.

All five tourists were Mexican nationals and the pilot was Nepalese, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement. The Mexicans included two men and three women.

The aircraft was returning to the capital Kathmandu on Tuesday morning after bringing the tourists on a sightseeing trip to the world’s highest peak.

Weather conditions had caused the helicopter’s planned flight route to be changed, airport official Sagar Kadel said.

It is common for flights to be delayed and routes changed during the monsoon season amid heavy rains.

The tourist and mountaineering season ended in May with the onset of the rainy season and tourist flights to the mountains are less common this time of year as visibility is poor and weather conditions become unpredictable.