“On Friday, May 4, she contracted diarrhea, which got worse as the day progressed,” says Dawa Gurung, who was guiding Keith Eraland Jellum (79) and his wife Ann Carol Mc Cormac (71) on their trek to Upper Mustang. “On Satur­day morning, when I went to see her [Mc Cormac], she looked very weak. I imme­diately contacted my travel agency to arrange a helicop­ter rescue.” That was around 8 am. By the time the Simrik Air helicopter reached the res­cue site, it was already 2:15 pm. When the chopper final­ly arrived, Mc Cormac was quickly airlifted to Pokhara and heaved into an ambulance (at 3:10 pm). She was then rushed to the nearby Gandaki Hospital, where she was pro­nounced dead (at 3:45 pm).

 

It is impossible to say with certainty whether Mc Cormac would have survived had the res­cue helicopter arrived faster. But Dawa reckons she would have recovered because “even on Sat­urday morning she was coherent and could converse normally”.

 

The obvious question that he and Mc Cormac’s family are asking is: why did the rescue helicopter take so long to arrive?

 

Chhusang in Upper Mustang, from where the American couple were airlifted to Pokhara, falls in a ‘restricted zone’, which means all the aircraft flying into the area have to get pri­or government permission, even during emergencies. It is a lengthy process. First the relevant trekking agency has to request the aircraft provider, in writing, that a rescue mission be arranged. The helicopter operator then has to make the case with the respective Chief District Officer, following which the CDO faxes a request to the Home Minis­try. By the time the ministry gives its final go-ahead for the airlift, four or five hours of precious time will have been wasted.

 

Those involved in these rescue missions don’t under­stand why they have to go through the long bureaucratic process when time is of the essence. “Why can’t the CDO, for instance, be given the authority to issue a final permit for an emergency rescue?” asks Prem Thapa, the CEO of Simrik Air.

 

Just in the past year, a Japanese national died in a restricted area in the Dhaulagiri region while another pregnant woman from a restricted area in Gorkha also lost her life, as the rescue chopper failed to arrive on time in both the cases.

 

“I don’t understand why the Upper Mustang area has to be placed in a restricted zone at all,” says Sid­dharth Jung Gurung, the pilot of the chopper that had flown to Chhusang to rescue Mc Cormac.

 

Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, a joint secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Avia­tion, informed that the restrictions date from the time of King Mahen­dra, when Nepal government was forced to impose a ‘no fly zone’ in some areas bordering China. This was because at the time the Khampa rebels were using Nepali territory in Mustang to wage a guerrilla war against China, with the help of the arms dropped by CIA aircraft.

 

“In my view, continued restric­tions, especially in tourist areas like Jomsom and Lo Manthang, no longer make sense. But then the final call is with the Home Ministry,” Lamichhane says.

 

“Due process has to be fol­lowed,” insists Ram Krishna Subedi, the Home Ministry spokesperson. “We have laws in place for a reason and unless they are changed our hands are tied.”

 

Asked if following due pro­cess is important even when lives are on the line, Subedi says, “The laws can be mod­ified as per the changing needs. But like I said, until that happens, we are bound to follow a proper paper trail.”

 

It was this protracted bureaucratic procedure that possibly cost Mc Cor­mac her life.

 

Siddharth, the heli­copter pilot, says he had a sinking feeling the moment he saw the ail­ing Mc Cormac at the back of his helicopter. “Her mouth was wide open and the husband had started sobbing inconsolably.”

 

When I called Dawa, the guide, on May 8, three days after Mc Cormac’s death, he hadn’t left the side of Jel­lum, the bereaved husband. They were still in Pokhara. I asked Dawa if I could I speak to Jellum on the phone. He replied that Jellum had a hearing problem and could barely make out what people were saying to him even in person.

 

Dawa informed me that the cou­ple’s son had landed in Nepal on the same day.