July 11 (UPI) -- A helicopter crash in Nepal, near Mount Everest, has left six people dead.
Five of the victims were Mexican citizens on a sightseeing tour, while the sixth was a Nepalese pilot.
The passengers, who have been identified as Maria Jose Sifuentes, Fernando Sifuentes, Abric Gonzalez, Ismael Rincon and Olacio Luz Gonzalez, were all from the same family. The pilot was identified as Nepalese citizen Chet B. Gurung, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
The Manang Air Airbus H125 helicopter took off from Surke on Tuesday morning and lost contact with ground controllers at about 10:13 a.m.
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The helicopter's wreckage was discovered at about 13,000 feet in the Lamjura Pass.
Two helicopters from the private company Altitude Air were dispatched to try and reach the crash site but were unable to land because of weather conditions. Authorities say the victims' bodies eventually will be brought to helicopters via ground transportation.
"Locals and police who reached the crashed site reported all six persons including pilot dead," the Nepalese Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.
Authorities said "efforts are being made to carry the dead bodies by ground transportation to the helicopter landing area and further to Kathmandu."
Earlier this year, a plane crash in Nepal killed 72 people.
Most crashes in Nepal are caused by a phenomenon known as "controlled flight into terrain," in which an aircraft slams into terrain that is obscured by clouds or weather.
Of 73 aircraft crashes in Nepal, which have caused 935 deaths since 1962, about 90% were the result of the phenomenon, and the majority of crashes took place during the monsoon season.
