REUTERSThe Nepali and Chinese sides of the Everest region were closed to tourism on Wednesday due to unseasonably heavy snow, and a helicopter crashed in deep snowdrifts as it tried to rescue stranded trekkers. A small private helicopter flying to Lobuche near the Everest Base Camp to rescue stranded trekkers crashed when it tried to land, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul said. It was unclear if there were tourists trapped inside the Everest region in Tibet. In early October, a blizzard stranded hundreds of trekkers near the eastern face of Everest on the Tibetan side. In Nepal, more than 50 people had died due to floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains.
