KATHMANDU: All six people aboard a tourist helicopter in Nepal were killed when it crashed soon after take-off on Tuesday, aviation authorities said.

The Manang Air flight was heading for the capital Kathmandu from near Lukla, the gateway for climbing expeditions to the world`s highest peak, with five Mexican travellers and a Nepali pilot onboard.

The chopper lost contact eight min-utes after taking off on Tuesday morning, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said in a statement. `The six bodies have been recovered and brought to Kathmandu,` Pratap Babu Tiwari, general manager at the Tribhuvan International Airport, said.

Two helicopters were deployed for search and rescue but could not land at the crash site because of the weather.-AFP