KATHMANDU, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The helicopter crash that killed seven people including Nepal's tourism minister on Wednesday was due to bad weather, an airport official said Thursday.
Raj Kumar Chhetri, general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, told Xinhua that though the weather was fine initially, it deteriorated after the helicopter reached Pathibhara temple of eastern district of Taplejung.
"We are a mountainous country with 83 percent of mountains, thus the weather is always in and out. Same happened in yesterday's case. The main reason of yesterday's crash is bad weather," Chhetri said.
The helicopter of Air Dynasty was returning to Kathmandu after the minister's inspection visit to Tehrathum district followed by a brief visit to the popular Hindu temple Pathibhara. It crashed in the hilly area at around 1:30 p.m. local time, just a few minutes after taking off from the temple.
Asked why the chopper was allowed to fly amid bad weather, Chhetri said the weather can be good at the time of take off while it can be adverse during flight or landing, adding "accidents are always uncertain."
Meanwhile, Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ishwar Pokharel told Xinhua that the incident was tragic for the whole nation, adding that the government was very much concerned about aviation safety.
"Accidents are common but every accident has a different reason behind. Those reasons should not be repeated. We have formed a probe committee to investigate into the incident," Pokharel said.
The Nepali government has formed a four-member probe committee led by former secretary of the government Yagya Prasad Gautam to investigate the fatal crash.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to hospital for postmortem. The body of the minister will be kept at Tundikhel in the capital on Friday morning for tributes before the final rites.
The Nepali government declared a public holiday on Thursday to mourn those who lost their lives in the crash.
