 A helicopter with six people on board has gone missing near Mount Everest in Nepal. The aircraft was carrying five foreign nationals, as well as the pilot, when it dropped off the radar at around 10.13am local time (5.13am UK time) today. Private company Manang Air operates the chopper which disappeared shortly after taking off from Surke Airport, according to The Himalayan Times. It had left at 10.04am (5.04am UK time) and was heading for Kathmandu when it lost contact nine minutes later near the Lamjura Pass. According to Tribhuvan International Airport manager, Gyanendra Bhul, it was around 12,000ft in the air when communications cut out. A search and rescue mission has been launched with another helicopter already scouring the area. The missing helicopter's GPS tracking system is being analysed to try and determine its last known exact location. Identities of the passengers travelling in the helicopter have not yet been confirmed – although they are thought to be Mexican nationals. The pilot has been identified as senior captain Chet B Gurung. This is a breaking news story. More to follow. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A helicopter with six people on board has gone missing near Mount Everest in Nepal.
The aircraft was carrying five foreign nationals, as well as the pilot, when it dropped off the radar at around 10.12am local time (5.12am UK time) today.
Private company Manang Air operates the chopper which disappeared shortly after taking off from Surke Airport, according to The Himalayan Times.
It had reportedly left at 10.04am (5.04am UK time) and was heading for Kathmandu when it lost contact eight minutes later near the Lamjura Pass.