Nepal's first and only female helicopter rescue pilot, Priya Adhikari, has been awarded the prestigious Tenzing-Hillary Search and Rescue Award in recognition of her contributions to high-altitude rescue operations in the Himalayas.

The award was presented during a ceremony marking the 73rd International Sagarmatha Day in Kathmandu on Friday. Adhikari did not attend the event, and her mother received the certificate on her behalf.

Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Minister Khadga Raj Paudel and ministry secretary Mukunda Prasad Niraula handed over the award at the programme, which was jointly organized by government tourism agencies and mountaineering organizations.

Adhikari, who flies for Heli Everest, is known for conducting rescue missions in some of the world's most challenging mountain environments, including around Mount Everest, known in Nepal as Sagarmatha.

She has played a key role in emergency evacuations and search-and-rescue operations across Nepal's Himalayan region, earning recognition for her skill and courage in operating helicopters at extreme altitudes.

The Tenzing-Hillary award is named after mountaineering pioneers Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, who became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1953.

Source: WOW