40 dead as US-Bangla Airlines plane crash-lands at Kathmandu airport
KATHMANDU (Nepal).: A passenger aircraft of the US-Bangla Airlines from Dhaka to Kathmandu crash-landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Monday, killing at least fifty people and injuring several others.
News agency Reuters quoted Nepal Army spokesperson as saying that at least 50 people have been killed in the tragic incident. the incident occurred around (IST) 2:20 pm.
AP had earlier claimed that at least 38 people have died and over 23 injured in the plane crash. At least 10 people are still unaccounted for, AP reported.However, other unconfirmed reports have mentioned that the death toll could be as high.
Emergency respondents and ambulances had reached the crash site when the incident took place.The plane was coming from Dhaka with 67 passengers on board. Many Kathmandu-bound flights have been asked to change the route or return, while flight operations have been suspended until further notice.The airport has been closed for all operations and rescue operations are currently underway.
”So far 20 people injured have been taken to the hospital. Police and Army are trying to cut apart the plane to rescue others,” he added. The 78-seater plane caught fire after crash-landing at theairport.
TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur earlier said, “There were 67 passengers and 4 crew members aboard the plane.” ”The aircraft careened off the runway during landing and crashed onto a football ground near the airport, catching fire,” the airport spokesman said.
Plumes of black smoke were seen rising from the football pitch minutes after the plane crashed, to the east of the runway at Nepal`s only international airport, in the capital Kathmandu.Firefighters were immediately rushed to the spot to extinguish the burning wreckage and rescue passengers.
Nepal has suffered a number of air disasters in recent years, dealing a blow to its tourist industry.nIts poor air safety record has been blamed largely on inadequate maintenance, inexperienced pilots and substandard management.
In early 2016, a Twin Otter turboprop aircraft slammed into a mountainside in Nepal killing all 23 people on board.Two days later, two pilots were killed when a small passenger plane crash-landed in the country`s hilly mid west. (With Agency Inputs).
