Nepal plane crash kills all 19 on board
Kathmandu: All 19 people, mostly foreigners, aboard a Dornier aircraft of a private airlines were killed as the plane crashed minutes after taking off from the Tribhuvan International Airport.
Sixteen passengers and three crew members who were heading towards Lukla, gateway to Mt Everest, were killed when the small aircraft belonging to Sita Airways crashed two minutes after it took off at 6:15 am (local time), airport officials said.
The plane had caught fire as soon as it took off and it crashed in the Manahara river in Koteshwor region, near a slum area, just 2-3 km south of the airport, the officials said.
All the passengers are said to be foreigners and most of them are Italian tourists, according to preliminary reports.
The crew members are identified as Captain Bijaya Tandukar, co-Pilot Takeshi Thapa and airhostess Ruja Shakya.
Sixteen passengers and three crew members who were heading towards Lukla, gateway to Mt Everest, were killed when the small aircraft belonging to Sita Airways crashed two minutes after it took off at 6:15 am (local time), airport officials said.
The plane had caught fire as soon as it took off and it crashed in the Manahara river in Koteshwor region, near a slum area, just 2-3 km south of the airport, the officials said.
All the passengers are said to be foreigners and most of them are Italian tourists, according to preliminary reports.
The crew members are identified as Captain Bijaya Tandukar, co-Pilot Takeshi Thapa and airhostess Ruja Shakya.
The reason of the accident is not yet known.
However, some airport officials speculate that bird hit might have caused the plane to burn in the sky immediately after it took off and the pilot might have tried to land into the nearby river before it crashed at the river bank.
The country has a poor record in road and air accidents with the latest fatal air crash in Nepal being the sixth in less than two years.
Earlier this year in May, Agni Air's Dornier Aircraft crashed near Jomsom airport in the north of Kathmandu killing 15 people. Those killed in that accident included 13 Indian pilgrims who were heading towards a famous pilgrimage site, Muktinath, near Tibet border.
In September last year, a small Beach Aircraft belonging to Buddha Air, carrying tourists on a mountain flight trip around Everest crashed into a hillside at Godavari village near Kathmandu, killing 19 people, including 10 Indians
However, some airport officials speculate that bird hit might have caused the plane to burn in the sky immediately after it took off and the pilot might have tried to land into the nearby river before it crashed at the river bank.
The country has a poor record in road and air accidents with the latest fatal air crash in Nepal being the sixth in less than two years.
Earlier this year in May, Agni Air's Dornier Aircraft crashed near Jomsom airport in the north of Kathmandu killing 15 people. Those killed in that accident included 13 Indian pilgrims who were heading towards a famous pilgrimage site, Muktinath, near Tibet border.
In September last year, a small Beach Aircraft belonging to Buddha Air, carrying tourists on a mountain flight trip around Everest crashed into a hillside at Godavari village near Kathmandu, killing 19 people, including 10 Indians
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