Helicopter crash kills one in Nepal

A small private helicopter crashed today in northwestern Nepal, killing one local passenger and seriously injuring two members of the crew including an Italian pilot, a police spokesman said.
The helicopter, operated by Fishtail Air and carrying six people, took off from the remote village of Hilsa near the China border when it crashed in Humla district, 235 kilometres northwest of capital Kathmandu.
"The helicopter crashed at 4:25 pm local time (1025 GMT) in Muchu village. A Nepali passenger has died while an Italian pilot and a Nepali co-pilot are seriously injured," Nawaraj Silwal, the spokesman of Nepal Police told AFP.

Silwal said an investigation would be launched soon into the crash.
Nepal has a poor road network and tourists, pilgrims and professional climbers often rely on the country's 16 domestic airlines to reach remote areas despite frequent air accidents owing to lax safety regulations.
Last month, 21 people were injured, including eight Japanese tourists, when a small plane skidded off an airport in northern Nepal and plunged into a river.