PANCHTHAR, Feb. 27 -- Seven people including Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on board the Air Dynasty died when it crashed near Pathibhara of Taplejung district on Wednesday afternoon.

"The snow was falling. The temperature was dipping. We were hurdling around a fire under a tree after collecting cattle fodder. A chopper approached flying with a big noise and smashed against the cliff, locally known as Tarebhir. It burst into flames, with plumes of smokes swirling into the sky," Sukhbir Bhattarai, an eyewitness, described the Air Dynasty chopper crash that killed seven people including Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari on Wednesday.

According to Bhattarai, the accident was just a kilometer away from the place where the...