Tragedy in Nepal: World Wildlife Fund mourns loss of conservation leaders

A few days ago, a helicopter carrying WWF officials, representatives of the Nepal government, and crew members was declared missing. The helicopter, a Russian MI-17, was returning to the Kathmandu area from eastern Nepal. The officials had been present at a ceremony marking the success of a major conservation effort near Kangchenjunga mountain. Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world.

The wreckage of the helicopter was found today. There were no survivors. The story on the WWF web site can be found here: http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildplaces/him/updates/wwf_loss.cfm

I am saddened that a ceremony marking an important conservation effort in Nepal was followed by such tragedy. (Of course, such loss of life is always tragic). I thought NPN members might be interested in this story.

Those old Russian helicopters have a terrible track record, getting worse as they wear out and maintenance suffers. Anyone traveling overseas where they are used should consider alternatives.....like walking....before climbing on one of them. The gigantic choppers are cheap and readily available around the world now, but to my knowledge none have made the grade for use in the US. Should be food for thought.

That makes the crash all the more senseless and tragic in my book.

Aweful... I didn't realize who was being transported in the helicoptor and only casually saw the article on CNN. Thanks for posting this.

The news reports should have been more complete. WWF does good work but we rarely consider it might also be dangerous.


Kent in SD

I agree with Hank. I was flying with such helicopter in Noth-East India (not far away in Nepal) in 2004. The same helicopter crashed and killed 10 pasengers and crew one week later. Picture from the helocopter terminal and from shuttle bus to the helicopter pad is attached.
Be carefull and think 1000x before boerding such vehicle.