New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) India on Tuesday confirmed the death of an Indian national in a helicopter collision involving two choppers in Nepal and assured that steps would be taken to bring back the mortal remains at the earliest.

Addressing a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the Indian mission in Nepal had verified the death and conveyed its condolences over the tragic incident.

“We have seen some of the pictures. Two helicopters were involved in the accident, and one Indian national has reportedly died. Our mission in Nepal has also confirmed this and expressed its condolences. We will try to bring back the mortal remains as soon as possible,” said Jaiswal

According to reports, one person was killed and another injured when two helicopters collided in the mountainous Solukhumbu district of eastern Nepal on Tuesday morning.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nabin Raja Budhathoki, chief of the District Police Office in Solukhumbu, told IANS that Vasanth Kumar, an Indian national from Tamil Nadu, was killed in the accident.

"The injured person is a New Zealand national of Indian origin," he said.

Both were passengers aboard a Fishtail Air helicopter that collided with an Air Dynasty helicopter as the two helicopters attempted to land at a helipad in the Pheriche area of Solukhumbu district on Tuesday morning, according to preliminary reports.

Budhathoki said the pilot of the Fishtail Air helicopter also sustained minor injuries. However, the Air Dynasty helicopter had no passengers on board, Nepali authorities said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a press release that an AS350 helicopter operated by Air Dynasty Heli Service Pvt. Ltd., registration number 9NAOD, had departed from Lukla Airport for Pheriche.

The other helicopter, an AS350 operated by Fishtail Air Pvt. Ltd., registration number 9NAJR, had departed from the Gorakshep area for Pheriche carrying two foreign nationals. The two helicopters collided while landing at Pheriche at 8:12 a.m. local time, the authority said.

Videos circulating on social media appear to show the rotor blades of the two helicopters colliding as the aircraft approached each other, before they fell to the ground.

--IANS

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