Kathmandu (PTI): Four Chinese tourists were among five people killed in Nepal on Wednesday when a helicopter crashed in the mountains northwest region of Kathmandu.

Police have recovered five dead bodies from the crash site in Ward No 7 of Shivapuri Rural Municipality, Nuwakot, Myrepublica newspaper reported.

Nepal-based Air Dynasty helicopter, 9N-AJD, was en route to Rasuwa from Kathmandu when it crashed.

The helicopter departed from Kathmandu at 1:54 PM and was en route to Syaphrubensi when it crashed.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), a Prabhu helicopter (9N-ANL) was dispatched to the crash site immediately after the incident.

There were five individuals on board, including four Chinese tourists, the paper said. The helicopter lost contact with the tower just three minutes after takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport, according to the CAAN.

Citing a police official, the paper said that the bodies of two men, one woman and the pilot, identified as Arun Malla, were recovered from the crash site.

One body has not been identified yet as it is charred beyond recognition, Myrepublica reported.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Shantiraj Koirala, at the District Police Office, Nuwakot, who reached the crash site, confirmed that five bodies had been recovered.

This crash comes just weeks after the Saurya Airlines plane crash at the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24. The crash claimed the lives of 18 people on board, with the captain being the sole survivor.

This latest incident raises serious concerns about air safety over the skies of the Himalayan nation, which has witnessed numerous air crashes in recent years.

 

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Thane (PTI): Three persons were killed and 15 others injured when an auto-rickshaw hit a bus and some other vehicles on a highway in Maharashtra's Thane district on Wednesday morning, police said.

The accident took place at 4.15 am on Mumbai-Agra highway near Khinavli bridge at Ghoteghar village in Shahapur taluka, they said.

The auto-rickshaw driver lost control over the wheels. As a result, the vehicle hit the road-divider, jumped the lane and collided with a private luxury bus, two cars and a tempo coming from the opposite direction, an official from Shahapur police station told PTI.

Three occupants of the bus died on the spot and 15 other persons, including the auto-rickshaw driver, were injured, he said.

The bus was on way from Nashik to Mumbai, the official said.

After being alerted, local police along with the emergency response teams rushed to the spot.

The injured persons were admitted to Shahapur sub-hospital and three of them were reported to be in a serious condition, the official said.

The bodies were sent to a government hospital for post-mortem, the police added.