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Helicopter Crashes in Nepali Forest, Killing All 5 on Board

Devotees’ light traditional torches on the last day of the Rato Machindranath chariot festival, also known as Bhoto Jatra, in Bungamati, Lalitpur on the outskirts of Kathmandu on August 4, 2024. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
Devotees’ light traditional torches on the last day of the Rato Machindranath chariot festival, also known as Bhoto Jatra, in Bungamati, Lalitpur on the outskirts of Kathmandu on August 4, 2024. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
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Helicopter Crashes in Nepali Forest, Killing All 5 on Board

Devotees’ light traditional torches on the last day of the Rato Machindranath chariot festival, also known as Bhoto Jatra, in Bungamati, Lalitpur on the outskirts of Kathmandu on August 4, 2024. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
Devotees’ light traditional torches on the last day of the Rato Machindranath chariot festival, also known as Bhoto Jatra, in Bungamati, Lalitpur on the outskirts of Kathmandu on August 4, 2024. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)

A helicopter crashed in a forest outside Nepal's capital Kathmandu shortly after takeoff on Wednesday, killing all five people on board, an official said, the latest of more than a dozen air crashes in the mountainous region since 2000.
The helicopter, operated by Dynasty air crashed into a Himalayan forest in Shivapuri National Park of Nuwakot district, 57 km (35 miles) from the capital, deputy Chief District Officer Krishna Prasad Humagain said.
Police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki confirmed all four passengers were Chinese nationals, three men and one woman, while the pilot was a Nepali male.
Local residents saw a fire emanating from the forest and alerted authorities, Reuters quoted him as saying.
The helicopter, which was en route to Rasuwa district from Kathmandu on Wednesday afternoon, lost contact with air traffic control three minutes after takeoff, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement.
More than 360 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal in the past 24 years.
Wedged between India and China, landlocked Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 highest peaks, and its planes often service small airports nestled in remote hills or near peaks blanketed in clouds.

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India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
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India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

India's navy on Wednesday simultaneously launched a submarine, a destroyer and a frigate built at a state-run shipyard, underscoring the importance of protecting the Indian Ocean region through which 95% of the country's trade moves amid a strong Chinese presence.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Atlantic Ocean’s importance has shifted to the Indian Ocean region, which is becoming a center of international power rivalry.

“India is giving the biggest importance to making its navy powerful to protect its interests,” he said.

“The commissioning of three major naval combatants marks a significant leap forward in realizing India’s vision of becoming a global leader in defense manufacturing and maritime security,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while commissioning the vessels at the state-run Mazagon dockyard in Mumbai.

The situation in the Indian Ocean region is challenging with the Chinese navy, India’s main rival, growing exponentially, said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst.

Bedi said that the INS Vagsheer submarine, the sixth among a French license-built Kalvari (Scorpene)-class conventional diesel-electric submarines, is aimed at replacing aging Indian underwater platforms and plugging serious capability gaps in existing ones. India now has a total of 16 submarines.

The P75 Scorpene submarine project represents India’s growing expertise in submarine construction in collaboration with the Naval Group of France, Bedi said.

India’s defense ministry is expected to conclude a deal for three additional Scorpene submarines to be built in India during Modi’s likely visit to Paris next month to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, the first of these boats, according to the Indian navy, is only likely to be commissioned by 2031.

India commissioned its first home-built aircraft carrier in 2022 to counter regional rival China’s much more extensive and growing fleet and expand its indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.

The INS Vikrant, whose name is a Sanskrit word for “powerful” or “courageous,” is India’s second operational aircraft carrier. It joins the Soviet-era INS Vikramaditya, which India purchased from Russia in 2004 to defend the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.