50 killed as Bangla plane crashes in Nepal
Kathmandu, March 12: A US-Bangla Airlines aircraft crashed and burst into flames on Monday while landing at Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) here, killing at least 50 people, officials said.
The Dhaka to Kathmandu flight, with 67 passengers and four crew members on board, caught fire after it careened off the runway and ploughed into a football ground near the airport, TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur said.
Nepal army spokesman Brigadier General Gokul Bhandari said 50 people had died and the fate of the others was unknown.
There were 33 Nepalese nationals on board flight
The Dhaka to Kathmandu flight caught fire after it careened off the runway and ploughed into a football ground near the airport.
UBG 211, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400. Others include 32 Bangladeshis, one Chinese and one Maldivian.
Bombardier is a twinengine, medium-range and turboprop aircraft.
“We are carrying out rescue work. We are collecting details,” TIA general manager Raj Kumar Chhetri said. The black box of the aircraft was recovered from the spot.
The condition of over two dozen people who were admitted to the hospital in Kathmandu is said to be serious.
According to SSP Bishwaraj Pokharel, spokesperson at Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range Office, 49 were confirmed dead in the crash. Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the football ground where the plane crashed. The 17 years aircraft took off from Dhaka and landed at the airport at 2:20 pm (local time).