A helicopter crashed Saturday outside the capital Kathmandu, killing six people including a Japanese man and injuring one, according to local police.

The helicopter, carrying seven people including the pilot, was heading from the central district of Gorkha to Kathmandu when it clipped trees and crashed on a hilltop in a densely forested area between Dhading and Nuwakot districts, about 50 kilometers from the capital, the police said.

Killed in the crash were Japanese national Hiromi Komatsu, pilot Nischal Chhetri and four other Nepali men, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Bhim Lal Bhattarai, who was involved in the rescue effort.

One woman survived the crash with serious injuries, he added.

Komatsu, 67, was flying to Kathmandu for treatment after falling ill in the course of climbing Mt. Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest peak, in western Nepal.

Although the cause of the crash is unclear, authorities suspect weather may have played a role, as cloudy and drizzling conditions in the area are not uncommon.