Nepal minister, five others die in copter crash

KATHMANDU, Feb 27 (AP): A helicopter with six people on board including Nepal's tourism minister crashed in bad weather Wednesday in the country's mountainous region, officials said.

Government administrator Gita Kamari Rai said the helicopter went down on a mountain and rescuers were making their way there on foot. Some villagers had reached the crash site, but the condition of those aboard was not immediately clear.

Rai, who is based at Taplejung District in the northeastern region of Nepal, said it was snowing and raining at the time of the crash.

Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari and civil aviation officials were among the passengers.

Adhikari, 49, became the tourism minister in March 2018 after the Nepal Communist Party won parliamentary elections.

The rescue coordination office at the Kathmandu airport said a rescue helicopter had been sent to the area but weather was making approach to the crash site, about 400 kilometres east of Kathmandu, difficult.