Nepali officials say at least three people were killed and four were injured after a Summit Air plane reportedly skidded off the runway and crashed into two helicopters parked nearby at Lukla airport in the eastern part of the country.
Suresh Acharya, Deputy secretary at the country's civil aviation department says the incident took place on Sunday morning while the Summit Air flight was about to take off.
"It skidded off the runway and crashed into Manang Air helicopter", he told local media. Another helicopter belonging to Shree Air was also damaged during the incident.
The deceased include a co-pilot of the airlines and two police officers stationed at the airport.
The injured have been airlifted to hospital.
A Summit Air Let L-410 Turbolet aircraft is seen after it hit two helicopters during take off at Lukla airport in Nepal.(Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images) Source: AFP
The Tenzing - Hillary airport, commonly referred to as Lukla airport is seen as the gateway destination for climbers heading towards Mount Everest.
The airport is located at more than 2,800 meters above sea level and is also referred to as one of the most dangerous airports in the world, due to the short length of the runway that ends with a wall.
Officials say flights have resumed from the airport after the incident.
In 2008, a Yeti Air plane crashed at Lukla airport killing 18 people.
