By Our Reporter
Tragedy has struck Nepal once again after a plane crashed on Wednesday, August 7, killing all five people on board.
The accident occurred in the Suryachaur area, northwest of Kathmandu, on a forest-covered mountain.
The Eurocopter AS350 helicopter, operated by the Nepal-based Air Dynasty, had taken off from Kathmandu International Airport at 1:54pm local time, en route to Syaprubeshi, according to CTV News.
A statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said that they lost contact with the aircraft just three minutes after takeoff.
Emergency responders, including police, army personnel, and two rescue helicopters, quickly arrived at the scene.
The bodies of four men and one woman were recovered from the wreckage, confirmed Krishna Prasad Humagai, the government administrator of Nuwakot district. The victims included four Chinese nationals and the Nepali pilot.
This comes two weeks after another plane was engulfed in flames near Kathmandu shortly after taking off leaving 18 people dead.
The pilot of the area was headed to Pokhara, a popular tourist destination. Among the deceased were technical staff members of the small airline and two crew members. Only the pilot survived the tragic accident.
In other news, four people died after their plane came down shortly after taking off at the Sundance Airport on the outskirts of Oklahoma city, in the United States.
Emergency responders, including firefighters, arrived swiftly to initiate a rescue operation, though the identities of the deceased remained unknown.
An eyewitness reported smelling smoke at the scene, but further details are awaited as the National Transportation and Safety Board progresses with investigations.
