Helicopter crash kills tourism minister

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal’s Minister of Tourism Rabindra Adhikari and six other people, including the pilot, were killed Wednesday when their helicopter crashed in Nepal’s eastern region.

The helicopter, operated by Air Dynasty, crashed in the mountainous district of Taplejung on an inspection trip to the construction site of a new airport near Pathibhara in Taplejung district.

Rabindra Prasad Adhikari, 49, was a member of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal and former student leader, who held the post of Nepal’s Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation since March last year.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal spokesperson, Pratap Babu Tiwari, confirmed that all seven on board the helicopter died in the crash.

The crash occurred following a brief stop to worship at Pathibhara temple on the return flight to Kathmandu.

Traveling with Minister Adhikari were the pilot of the helicopter Captain Prabhakar KC, aviation and travel entrepreneur Ang Tshiring Sherpa, security personnel Arjun Ghimire, Prime Minister’s close aide Yubaraj Dahal, Deputy Director General of CAAN Birendra Shrestha, and CAAN Engineer Dhruba Das Bhochhibhaya.

Ang Tshiring Sherpa, was one of the most powerful businessmen in the country with strong links to aviation and hospitality.

The helicopter the group travelled in belonged to Air Dynasty Heli Service, one of the oldest helicopter rescue companies in Nepal, that Ang Tshiring founded in 1993.

In the late 1990s he launched Thamserku an adventure and mountaineering travel firm and founded Yeti Airlines, the first airline to compete with government-owned Royal Nepal Airlines.

He later launched Tara Air that together with Yeti Airlines have the most extensive network of all Nepal’s airlines.

The report first appeared in Himalayan Times