Nepal plane crash: 22 dead

Kathmandu, Dec 16: A major flight accident occurred in eastern Nepal on Wednesday, Dec 15, when a small passenger plane crashed in the mountainous terrain adjacent to the rocky airstrip. According to sources all 22 passengers on board were killed in the tragedy. The reason for the crash remains unknown.

The Twin Otter plane carrying 19 passengers including one American and 3 crew members departed from a small airstrip from Lamidanda to the east of Kathmandu on Wednesday afternoon. It crashed into a versant shortly after take-off.

Police spokesman Bigyan Raj Sharma told AFP that, “rescue teams have recovered 20 bodies and is on the search for another two. But we can be sure there are no survivors. The aircraft has broken up and is scattered over 200 meters of dense forest."

Tara Air is a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines a privately owned domestic airline, which runs services to many remote destinations across Nepal.

Yeti Airlines was involved in a crash in 2008, when a passenger plane crashed on landing at the Lukla airport, the gateway to Mount Everest, that killed 19 passengers on board including a number of German tourists.

OneIndia News