Mid-Air Helicopter Collision Near Everest Base Camp Kills Tourist, Injures 2 Others

Although an entire tourism industry has grown around climbing Mount Everest, summiting the world's tallest mountain remains a tremendously dangerous endeavor. Two helicopters collided in mid-air while attempting to land at the same spot below the Everest base camp. Helicopter company Fishtail Air stated that the crash killed an Indian tourist, and the chopper's captain and another passenger were injured. The other helicopter's pilot somehow escaped without injury. The second chopper was only carrying cargo.

The footage is harrowing, to say the least. A red helicopter is hovering, gradually descending and rotating to a landing spot at Pheriche. The Nepali village sits 13,780 feet above sea level. Then, a second helicopter comes into frame, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Both pilots take evasive action far too late. The second chopper's main blades smash into the other rotorcraft, slicing off the tail boom. Both helicopters immediately plummet right into the snowy terrain as people waiting on the ground scramble away. Miraculously, none of the bystanders were struck by flying debris or injured. There's never a good outcome when two helicopters hit each other.

It's pretty baffling how two helicopters could collide in completely clear conditions. Maybe the pilots didn't realize they were trying to land in the same spot. Helicopter flights aren't rare in this part of the world, either. According to the BBC, helicopters are the only way to get trekkers and guides down from Everest when they are sick or exhausted in inhospitable conditions. It's also the tail end of the mountain's autumn climbing season.

The tourists who spend thousands of dollars to climb Everest do so with the understanding that it's inherently dangerous. Those dangers are typically low oxygen levels and freezing temperatures at absurdly high altitudes. Just getting to the mountain can be just as dangerous. Most journeys to Everest base camp begin at Tenzing-Hillary Airport, named after the first mountaineers to climb the mountain. The facility is often called the world's most dangerous airport because of its short 1,729-foot runway with a 12% gradient and the mountain wall at one end. Not to mention, the terrain doesn't allow pilots to go around despite the rapidly shifting weather conditions. Just flying in would be enough of an Everest adventure for me.