At least one person has died in a mid-air collision between two helicopters near a Mt. Everest base camp. Authorities confirmed that the Tuesday crash left two others injured, but it’s still unclear if there were other victims in either aircraft.
The crash was captured on a camera that’s run by Webcam Nepal, which livestreams everything from weather conditions at Everest and Annapurna Base Camps to showcasing some of the region’s most scenic landscapes. This particular camera was near a helipad in Periche, at an altitude of about 4,200 meters (13,780 feet).
The footage shows the tail and rotors of one helicopter swing toward the fuselage of another helicopter as both were approaching the helipad at the same time. The crash happens low to the ground, but it’s apparent the collision caused severe damage instantly. The tail of one aircraft is instantly dismembered, sending that helicopter violently to the ground. The other, meanwhile, falls to the ground but manages to drop upright onto the landing skid.
Pilots of both helicopters were reportedly injured, while the one confirmed fatality has been identified as a 47-year-old tourist from Chennai, India. Agence France-Presse reported that arrangements were being made to transport his body to Kathmandu, but few other details about the people involved have been made available.
A Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal spokesperson did confirm the helicopters were operated by Fishtail Air and Air Dynast, but, “Further details are being investigated.”
According to The Times, more than 360 people have been killed in the country in at least 20 air crashes since 2000.
