Two die in Everest helicopter crash

7.45am

KATHMANDU - Two people died and six were injured when a helicopter crashed near Mount Everest base camp on Wednesday, marring celebrations on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the mountain.

The two dead were Nepalis, said an army officer, who had earlier put the death toll at three.

A helicopter crewman from Kazakhstan and a German woman trekker on the ground were among the injured, hospital officials in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, told Reuters.

The Russian-built Mi-17, owned by private Simrik Airlines, was carrying eight people, including a crew of four, to the camp when it crashed. The cause of the crash was not known.

More than 1,000 people are at the base camp, part of 20-plus teams trying to climb the world's highest mountain as part of the golden jubilee celebrations to mark the first ascent.

Fifty years ago on Thursday morning, New Zealand beekeeper Edmund Hillary and Indian-based Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of the 8850-metre high mountain.

Both became instant celebrities around the world. Hillary, now 83, is the guest of honour for elaborate festivities across Nepal. The impoverished country hopes the celebrations will help revive a tourism industry nearly wrecked by a Maoist revolt.

Although about 450 other summiteers are in Nepal for the festivities, Tenzing is absent. He died in 1986.

Hillary and other senior climbers are critical of the commercialism and ease of Everest summitting today -- a guided trip to the top costs US$65,000 ($113,000). But the helicopter crash served as a reminder of the dangers that remain.

The helicopter was on its way to the camp to pick up climbers, including Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa who this week set a record of 10 hours and 46 minutes for the fastest climb from base camp.

The helicopter crashed about 100 metres from base camp as it was coming in to land. The fuselage of the chopper came to rest in a shallow, icy stream and scores of climbers and support staff from the base camp raced to the scene to drag out the injured.

The base camp itself is at 5350 metres and most people trek for days through the mountains just to reach it.

Flying in by helicopter can be dangerous because of the high altitude, thin air and occasional strong winds.

- REUTERS