A day when 2 talented TV journalists lost

On 23 September 2006, a Shree Air Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashed on a chartered flight from Phungling to Ghunsa in Eastern Nepal. The accident killed all 24 passengers and crew on board, including an expedition of the World Wide Fund for Nature.

On board the helicopter was an expedition of the World Wide Fund for Nature returning from a conservation event in Taplejung District, where the Government of Nepal handed over the management of the park around Kanchenjunga to the local people. The WWF team included Chandra Gurung and Harka Gurung. Other passengers on board the ill-fated helicopter included State Minister Gopal Rai.

The helicopter took off at 10:45 NPT on 23 September 2006. Shortly afterwards, the helicopter was declared missing. Two days later, the wreckage of the helicopter was found south-west of Ghunsa Bad weather was assumed to have caused the crash at the beginning.

The final report on the accident the committee of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal stated that the pilots entering cloudy areas in unfamiliar terrain as well as bad crew resource management were the main causes of the accident.

2 journalists of Nepal Television also died in that accident. They went to collect news. Hemraj Bhandari of Rolpa and Sunil Singh of Sarlahi were also involved in the accident. Hemraj Bhandari was a Jehendar who studied at Budhanilkantha School. He used to work in the evening at the front desk at that time. But he was very enthusiastic to work. He would come to the office from noon and be ready to go wherever he was assigned. He preferred to go into reporting. Sunil Singh was the camera person. He came from Sarlahi.

Since the establishment of Nepal Television, journalists of Nepal Television have travelled by helicopter thousands of times to gather news. They should always be ready to make such a trip especially during the visit of high-ranking persons including the President, Prime Minister. There is no insurance on such trips. In a similar journey Hemraj Bhandari and Sunil had to be lost. Hem Sunil Risky Television Journalism Award has been established to refresh their memory.

The amount of this award, which started with 10 thousand rupees, has increased to 1 lakh rupees.

The risk of journalists in the country is increasing day by day.In this context, it is seen that the government should also be careful to minimise the risk of journalists.