Nepal plane crash kills all 19 passengers
Kathmandu, Nepal: Seven Britons and five Chinese are among the dead in a plane crash Friday on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu which killed all 19 on board, according to a revised toll by police.
Nepal Police spokesman Binod Singh said that ”The plane crash in the capital has caused death of 12 foreigners, including seven British and five Chinese tourists. The remaining seven, including three crew members, are Nepalese.
A small passenger plane carrying 19 people crashed on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital Friday, killing everyone on board. The Sita Air Dornier craft had just taken off from Kathmandu airport and was headed to the small town of Lukla, a gateway to Mount Everest, when it plunged into the banks of a river near the city.
The spokesman added that “All 19 passengers of the Sita Air plane have died. The accident site is less than one kilometre (half a mile) from the airport. The pilots seem to have tried to land it safely on the banks of the river but unfortunately the plane caught fire.”
Singh said that the plane, carrying mainly foreigners and three local crew, plunged into the banks of the Manohara river at 6:30 am (1245 GMT).
“The plane was engulfed in flames when we arrived,” Nepal police officer Rajan Adhikari told. Dozens of army personnel had arrived at the crash site, said Nepalese army spokesman Ramindra Chhetri, and were battling to bring the blaze under control.
Filed in: World
