Wednesday, May 28, 2003
A Helicopter crash in which up to three people were killed has marred this weeks anniversary celebrations on Mount Everest.
A Nepalese private airline helicopter crash landed into a glacier on Wednesday, whilst returning foreign journalists to Kathmandu. Although it has not yet been confirmed how many died in the crash two of the dead have been named as Phudorji Sherpa and Anup Dewan by abc.net. It is thought that the Helicopter lost control due to the extreme altitude and difficult weather conditions associated with the mountain. Jane Hughes of the bbc reported from the scene that "flying into Everest is inherently dangerous because there is only just enough lift for the [Helicopter] blades".
The incident comes amongst the culmination of year long celebrations commemorating the scaling of the summit for the first time on May 29th 1953. This week has seen up to 1000 climbing enthusiasts descend on the mountain with at least 20 individual expeditions setting off to make it to the summit this week alone. Family members of Sir Edmund Hill and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa are also in attendance.
Around 500 of the 1300 people to reach Everest's peak are expected at the event where they are due to be honoured this Friday by Nepal's King and Prime Minister. The occasion has also been marked by untraditional events such as the opening of the mount everest brewery and activities such as Football tournaments, Bowling, mountain biking and Photography exhibitions all taking place on the mopuntain according to official organisers.
A Nepalese private airline helicopter crash landed into a glacier on Wednesday, whilst returning foreign journalists to Kathmandu. Although it has not yet been confirmed how many died in the crash two of the dead have been named as Phudorji Sherpa and Anup Dewan by abc.net. It is thought that the Helicopter lost control due to the extreme altitude and difficult weather conditions associated with the mountain. Jane Hughes of the bbc reported from the scene that "flying into Everest is inherently dangerous because there is only just enough lift for the [Helicopter] blades".
The incident comes amongst the culmination of year long celebrations commemorating the scaling of the summit for the first time on May 29th 1953. This week has seen up to 1000 climbing enthusiasts descend on the mountain with at least 20 individual expeditions setting off to make it to the summit this week alone. Family members of Sir Edmund Hill and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa are also in attendance.
Around 500 of the 1300 people to reach Everest's peak are expected at the event where they are due to be honoured this Friday by Nepal's King and Prime Minister. The occasion has also been marked by untraditional events such as the opening of the mount everest brewery and activities such as Football tournaments, Bowling, mountain biking and Photography exhibitions all taking place on the mopuntain according to official organisers.
