Nepal: Helicopter with six people on board goes missing

A helicopter with six people on board has gone missing near Mount Everest in Nepal.

According to local media reports, contact with the Manang Air helicopter, that took off from Surki in the Solukhumbu district bound for the capital Kathmandu, was lost 15 minutes after its departure on Tuesday morning.

The helicopter was carrying five foreign tourists and a Nepali pilot, government officials told news agencies.

A search effort for the missing chopper was underway, officials said.