A US-Bangla airlines aircraft carrying 71 people including four crew members crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu on Monday afternoon. The Airport authority has suspected casualty but the details are hazy.
WEB DESK /AMN / KATHMANDU
An aeroplane of the US-Bangla Airlines with 67 passengers and four members crash-landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) here today, triggering fears of fatalities, officials said.
TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur told media that the 78-seater Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft veered off the runway while landing at 2.20 p.m. and crashed onto a ground near the airport, catching fire, the Kathmandu Post reported.
FORCES in Nepal started recovering bodies from the crashed Bangladeshi US Bangla Airlines craft after it met the fatal accident near Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Airport with 71 people onboard, four being crew, officials and reports said from the Nepalese capital.
A Nepalese civil aviation official earlier said 21 passengers were rescued alive from the craft and were rushed to hospitals with critical wounds while army was called out in aide of fire fighters and police.
Tourism Ministry Joint Secretary Suresh Acharya said 25 injured passengers have been rescued and sent to different hospitals for treatment. TIA said there were 37 males, 27 females and two child onboard the aircraft.
Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) Sanjiv Gautam said that the plane was out of control when it attempted to land on the runway. “The aircraft was permitted to land from the Southern side of the runway over Koteshwor but it landed from the Northern side,” said Gautam suspecting the aircraft might have sustained some technical glitches. “We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the unusual landing,” he added.
(The plane involved in the crash. Photo via jetphotos.com)