<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">A helicopter went missing in Nepal on Tuesday carrying five Mexican tourists and a Nepali pilot, the company said.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Manang Air chopper took off from Surke, close to Lukla in the Everest region at 10:04 am (0419 GMT), heading for the capital Kathmandu, but lost contact about 10 minutes later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Search efforts are underway. We have sent another helicopter to search," Raju Neupane of Manang Air told AFP.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nepal is notorious for its poor aviation safety, and the latest incident comes almost six months after a plane crash in western Nepal which killed all 72 people on board.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Himalayan country has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating treacherous flying conditions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition, Nepal's aviation sector has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>