Tourist dies as two helicopters collide near Everest in terrifying footage

People standing on a snow-covered helipad on the Everest trekking route ran for cover as two helicopters coming in to land appeared to clip rotors, with one crashing into the snow. A 47-year-old tourist died, and early reports point to miscommunication between the pilots. 

Two helicopters tried to land at once 

The collision happened just after 8am on Tuesday November 3 at the Pheriche helipad, a stop on the trekking route to Everest Base Camp in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district, more than 4,200 metres above sea level. Both aircraft were AS350 helicopters, a light, single-engine type. One, operated by Fishtail Air, had taken off from Gorakshep, the last settlement before Everest Base Camp, carrying two foreign tourists, while the other, run by Air Dynasty, had flown in from Lukla Airport, the main gateway to the Everest region, on a cargo flight.

The video below, shared widely online, appears to show both helicopters approaching the snowy helipad before their rotor blades strike each other and one crashes onto the snow. A cloud of snow and debris rises, people nearby run away, and others then approach the wreckage.

LIVE UPDATE FROM EVEREST: Helicopter Collision in Pheriche. Two helicopters collided at the helipad.

More news coming up :#Pheriche #PhericheHelipad #NepalNews #HimalayanNews #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/ReLrzuc1eR

— Daniel Mazur (@danielmazur) November 3, 2026

Nepali media reports say one helicopter kept descending despite warnings from staff on the ground, with the impact happening only a couple of metres above the ground.

One tourist killed and three people hurt 

Vasanth Kumar Balaramudu, 47, from Chennai in India, was a passenger on the Fishtail Air helicopter and died at the scene, according to police. His body was taken to a hospital in Lukla.

Shailesh Krishna Patel, 49, a New Zealand citizen of Indian origin, was the other passenger and was airlifted to Nepal Mediciti Hospital in Kathmandu along with the Fishtail Air pilot. The Air Dynasty pilot was also injured, and police said his condition was normal. Fishtail Air said the two men on board were tourists.

Nepal’s aviation chief points to pilot miscommunication

Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Director General Mukesh Dangol said preliminary reports point to ‘miscommunication between the pilots’. That’s because the helipad sits outside the coverage of Lukla Airport’s control tower, so pilots have to coordinate directly with each other rather than being guided in by controllers. 

It’s believed to be the first mid-air helicopter collision in Nepal’s history, although the exact cause hasn’t been established. CAAN is recording the injured pilot’s statement, and an investigation team has been sent to examine the wreckage. 

Helicopters are a lifeline on the Everest trail

The crash came in the middle of the peak trekking season, with heavy snow having covered the route until the weather improved on Sunday November 1. There are no roads in the area, so helicopters are the only quick way to bring out trekkers and climbers who can’t walk down, and the Everest Base Camp trek alone takes around two weeks.

However, the number of flights has caused growing anger locally. The local region and Sagarmatha National Park issued directives in December 2025 to restrict sightseeing helicopter flights over the park, with exemptions for rescue, and the dispute remains unresolved. At least 22 fatal helicopter crashes have been recorded in Nepal since 1966.

For now, investigators are still taking statements, checking passenger lists for both flights and examining the wreckage, so the cause of Tuesday’s collision is yet to be confirmed.