नेपालमा भएको प्लेन दुर्घटनामा सात ब्रिटिश टूरिस्ट सहित बिमानमा सवार सबै यात्रुको मृत्यु।
Everest flight crashes in Kathmandu, killing all on board
A SMALL plane flying 19 people towards Mount Everest has crashed on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital, killing everyone on board including seven Britons and five Chinese.
The Sita Air Dornier aircraft had just taken off from Kathmandu airport and was headed to the small town of Lukla, a gateway to the world's highest mountain, when it plunged into the banks of a river near the city.
Witnesses described hearing the screams of passengers and seeing flames coming from one of the plane's wings moments before it hit the ground.
National police spokesman Binod Singh said there were no survivors.
It was the sixth fatal air crash in Nepal in the last two years, with 76 lives lost in that period before today, raising fresh questions about the safety record of the country's numerous small airlines.
“The crash has caused the death of 12 foreigners, including seven British and five Chinese tourists. The remaining seven, including three crew members, are Nepalese,” Singh said.
The spokesman said that the plane had crashed less than one kilometre from the airport at around 6:30am local time, next to the Manohara river.
“The pilots seem to have tried to land it safely on the banks of the river but unfortunately the plane caught fire.”
Although the exact cause of the crash was still unclear, the manager of Tribhuvan International Airport said the pilot had reported hitting a bird moments before the tragedy.
“Immediately after the take-off, the air traffic controllers noticed the aircraft making unusual manoeuvres. When the traffic controller asked the pilot about it, he said the plane had struck a bird,” Ratish Chandra Lal Suman told reporters.
Police had initially said five Japanese, two Italians and a Briton were killed in the crash but later corrected the information, which had been given in error by an officer at the crash site.
Dozens of army personnel arrived at the crash site, said Nepalese army spokesman Ramindra Chhetri, and battled to bring the blaze under control.
Local television channels showed dozens of soldiers and police officers picking through the smouldering wreckage of the aircraft with a large crowd of shocked bystanders watching.
A number of badly burned bodies were laid in a line a few metres from the craft's shattered fuselage.
Tulasha Pokharel, a 26-year-old housewife who lives near to the crash site, said she was among the first on the scene.
“We could hear people inside the aircraft screaming, but we couldn't throw water at the plane to put out the fire because we were scared that the engines were about to explode,” she said.
Nepal has a poor road network and large numbers of tourists, pilgrims and professional climbers often rely on the country's 16 domestic airlines and 49 airports to reach remote areas.
The accident is the sixth fatal air crash in Nepal in less than two years and raises new questions about the safety record of the country's numerous small airlines.
Aircraft and pilots often have to contend with bad weather and difficult landing strips in the Himalayan nation.
In May, 15 people were killed when a small Agni Air plane taking tourists to a treacherous high-altitude airport near Nepal's Annapurna mountain region ploughed into the ground.
In September last year a small plane taking tourists on a sightseeing trip around Everest crashed into a hillside near the Nepalese Kathmandu, also killing all 19 people on board.
The Buddha Air Beechcraft plane, carrying 10 Indians, two Americans, one Japanese citizen and three local passengers, came down in heavy rain and fog at Godavari, about 10 kilometres from the capital.
AFP
Everest flight crashes in Kathmandu, killing all on board
A SMALL plane flying 19 people towards Mount Everest has crashed on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital, killing everyone on board including seven Britons and five Chinese.
The Sita Air Dornier aircraft had just taken off from Kathmandu airport and was headed to the small town of Lukla, a gateway to the world's highest mountain, when it plunged into the banks of a river near the city.
Witnesses described hearing the screams of passengers and seeing flames coming from one of the plane's wings moments before it hit the ground.
National police spokesman Binod Singh said there were no survivors.
It was the sixth fatal air crash in Nepal in the last two years, with 76 lives lost in that period before today, raising fresh questions about the safety record of the country's numerous small airlines.
“The crash has caused the death of 12 foreigners, including seven British and five Chinese tourists. The remaining seven, including three crew members, are Nepalese,” Singh said.
The spokesman said that the plane had crashed less than one kilometre from the airport at around 6:30am local time, next to the Manohara river.
“The pilots seem to have tried to land it safely on the banks of the river but unfortunately the plane caught fire.”
Although the exact cause of the crash was still unclear, the manager of Tribhuvan International Airport said the pilot had reported hitting a bird moments before the tragedy.
“Immediately after the take-off, the air traffic controllers noticed the aircraft making unusual manoeuvres. When the traffic controller asked the pilot about it, he said the plane had struck a bird,” Ratish Chandra Lal Suman told reporters.
Police had initially said five Japanese, two Italians and a Briton were killed in the crash but later corrected the information, which had been given in error by an officer at the crash site.
Dozens of army personnel arrived at the crash site, said Nepalese army spokesman Ramindra Chhetri, and battled to bring the blaze under control.
Local television channels showed dozens of soldiers and police officers picking through the smouldering wreckage of the aircraft with a large crowd of shocked bystanders watching.
A number of badly burned bodies were laid in a line a few metres from the craft's shattered fuselage.
Tulasha Pokharel, a 26-year-old housewife who lives near to the crash site, said she was among the first on the scene.
“We could hear people inside the aircraft screaming, but we couldn't throw water at the plane to put out the fire because we were scared that the engines were about to explode,” she said.
Nepal has a poor road network and large numbers of tourists, pilgrims and professional climbers often rely on the country's 16 domestic airlines and 49 airports to reach remote areas.
The accident is the sixth fatal air crash in Nepal in less than two years and raises new questions about the safety record of the country's numerous small airlines.
Aircraft and pilots often have to contend with bad weather and difficult landing strips in the Himalayan nation.
In May, 15 people were killed when a small Agni Air plane taking tourists to a treacherous high-altitude airport near Nepal's Annapurna mountain region ploughed into the ground.
In September last year a small plane taking tourists on a sightseeing trip around Everest crashed into a hillside near the Nepalese Kathmandu, also killing all 19 people on board.
The Buddha Air Beechcraft plane, carrying 10 Indians, two Americans, one Japanese citizen and three local passengers, came down in heavy rain and fog at Godavari, about 10 kilometres from the capital.
AFP
