An Indian tourist was killed and three others, including two pilots, sustained injuries after two private charter helicopters collided while attempting to land in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district on Tuesday morning, November 3, 2026.
The mid-air touchdown collision occurred around 8:11 AM IST (local time) at the Pheriche helipad, located in Ward 4 of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality along the trek route to Mount Everest Base Camp. The two aircraft involved were operated by private aviation firms Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty.
Casualties and Identification
Local law enforcement officials from the Solukhumbu District Police confirmed that one passenger died on the spot following the impact:
- Deceased Identified: The deceased has been identified as 47-year-old Vasanth Kumar Balaramaramadu, an Indian national hailing from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, who was traveling aboard the Fishtail Air helicopter. His body has been moved to a hospital facility in Lukla.
- Injured Passenger: Shailesh Krishna Patel (49), an Indian-origin resident of New Zealand traveling on the same aircraft, sustained injuries. He was emergency-airlifted by a Prabhu Air helicopter to Mediciti Hospital in Kathmandu for advanced medical treatment.
Pilots Injured and Investigation Underway
Both commanders operating the respective choppers—Captain Rabindra Prajapati of Fishtail Air and Captain Prajwal KC of Air Dynasty—sustained injuries during the crash. Both pilots were evacuated to Kathmandu for medical evaluation.
According to Police Inspector Mausam Tamang and Solukhumbu District Police Chief Nabin Raja Budhathoki, aviation and security teams are conducting a complete investigation to establish the cause of the collision at the high-altitude helipad. Authorities are verifying the full manifest of passengers aboard both charter flights at the time of the incident.
