Fate Of 24 Occupants Unknown

A helicopter with 24 people aboard is missing in a remote region of Nepal. Operated by Sri Airlines, the chopper, returning to Suketar from Ghunsa, disappeared Saturday morning.

According to eKantipur.com, a Nepali news media outlet, local Sherpas from the Ghunsa area told authorities they heard a loud noise soon after the helicopter departed at 11:30 local.

The private delegation aboard the aircraft -- which  eKantipur.com says is a Russian-built Mi-172 (file photo below) -- had attended a ceremony for the hand over of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area in the Taplejung district to local residents. The flight was sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a global environmental group.

In a statement, WWF said delegates from America, Finland, Canada and Australia joined Nepal's junior forest minister Gopal Rai, his wife and three senior government officials aboard the aircraft to attend the ceremony.

The four-man crew included two Russians.

Airborne search and rescue efforts are underway, but so far teams have found nothing. Two helicopters searched most of the day Saturday, but bad weather and nightfall forced officials to suspend further efforts until Sunday morning.

The search area around Ghunsa is very remote and mountainous hampering ground search efforts. Nepal has a poor road and highway network; ground search efforts are likely to be fruitless.

FMI: http://kathmandu.usembassy.gov/