Nepal crash kills 7 Indians
15 May 2012 10:52 AM IST
Seven Indians were among 13 passengers killed on Monday, when a private plane with 21 people on board crashed in northern Nepal while trying to land at the high-altitude Jomsom airport, a popular Himalayan trekking spot. The Dornier aircraft belonging to Agni Air crashed when it hit top of a hill near Pokhara while returning to the Jomsom airport, said an official at the Rescue Coordination Committee of Tribhuvan International Airport.
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'Seven Indian nationals and six Nepalese were killed in the crash,' the official said, adding rescuers have so far recovered nine bodies from the wreckage. Eight people on board, including the three crew members and four Indians, have been rescued alive from the crash site, he said. The injured people were taken to a nearby hospital in Pokhara, where conditions of the four Indians was found to be critical. The aircraft was heading towards Jomsom in the morning when it hit the hill, the official said, adding that there are possibilities of a technical fault. Detail reports from the crash site is awaited. Â
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The high-altitude Jomsom airport, about 200 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu, is a gateway to a popular tourism and trekking destination situated more than 2,600 metres above the sea level. When contacted, the Indian Embassy officials said that they were trying to collect more details, as there was some confusion over the nationalities of the passengers on board the ill-fated plane. The passengers had chartered the flight to take them from the central tourist hub of Pokhara to Muktinath, a sacred place for Hindus and Buddhists, at the foot of the Thorongla mountain pass, an official said.
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The Agni Air marketing manager Pramod Pandey said that two Danish nationals were among the passengers, although their condition was not known. 'It's not that much difficult to land at the Jomsom airport. We are using experienced pilots over there. So, this pilot who flying this aircraft has a lot of flying hours,' he added.
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'Seven Indian nationals and six Nepalese were killed in the crash,' the official said, adding rescuers have so far recovered nine bodies from the wreckage. Eight people on board, including the three crew members and four Indians, have been rescued alive from the crash site, he said. The injured people were taken to a nearby hospital in Pokhara, where conditions of the four Indians was found to be critical. The aircraft was heading towards Jomsom in the morning when it hit the hill, the official said, adding that there are possibilities of a technical fault. Detail reports from the crash site is awaited. Â
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The high-altitude Jomsom airport, about 200 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu, is a gateway to a popular tourism and trekking destination situated more than 2,600 metres above the sea level. When contacted, the Indian Embassy officials said that they were trying to collect more details, as there was some confusion over the nationalities of the passengers on board the ill-fated plane. The passengers had chartered the flight to take them from the central tourist hub of Pokhara to Muktinath, a sacred place for Hindus and Buddhists, at the foot of the Thorongla mountain pass, an official said.
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The Agni Air marketing manager Pramod Pandey said that two Danish nationals were among the passengers, although their condition was not known. 'It's not that much difficult to land at the Jomsom airport. We are using experienced pilots over there. So, this pilot who flying this aircraft has a lot of flying hours,' he added.
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