Nepal’s Tourism and Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari and six other persons died in a helicopter crash in Taplejung district on Wednesday afternoon. Yubaraj Dahal, the personal aide to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, is also among the dead. The chopper was carrying seven persons. The local police officials said that all seven bodies have been recovered.
The team had gone for a feasibility study for an airstrip in Chuhandanda in neighbouring Tehrathum district. Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister has summoned an emergency cabinet meeting at the official residence of the Prime Minister.
Nepal has some of the world’s most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge for even accomplished pilots.