29 confirmed killed in Nepal plane crash, ‘some’ survivors: official
KATHMANDU - Twentynine people are confirmed to have been killed in a crash by a plane in Nepal that had 72 on board, but there were some survivors, an official said Sunday.
“We have recovered 29 bodies so far and (we) have also sent some survivors to the hospital for treatment,” Gurudatta Dhakal, assistant chief official in Kaski district, told AFP. The aircraft with 72 people on board that crashed is the latest aviation disaster to hit the Himalayan nation. Nepal’s air transport sector has been plagued by accidents due to poor maintenance, insufficient training and lax standards.
The country also has some of the world’s most remote and tricky runways, with approaches flanked by towering mountains that challenge even accomplished pilots.
A timeline of major air disasters to hit the country since 2010:
A Twin Otter plane operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air crashes shortly after takeoff from Pokhara in western Nepal, killing 22 people.
A small plane veers off the runway while taking off near Mount Everest, hitting two helicopters and killing three people. Three people were also injured.
A flight from the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka crash-lands at Kathmandu airport, skidding into a football field where it bursts into flames. Fifty-one people are killed in what was the deadliest aviation accident in the country for decades.
A Twin Otter aircraft operated by Tara Air crashes into a hillside in Myagdi district, killing all 23 people on board.
Eighteen people are killed when a Nepal Airlines flight crashes in Arghakhanchi district, with rescuers finding body parts and debris strewn across the mountainous countryside.
A plane flying 19 people towards Mount Everest goes down in flames on the outskirts of the Nepali capital, killing everyone on board including seven Britons and five Chinese citizens.
Fifteen people die when an Agni Air plane carrying Indian pilgrims crashes near the treacherous highaltitude airport of Jomsom in northern Nepal, while six make a miraculous escape.
A small plane taking tourists on a sightseeing trip around Mount Everest crashes into a hillside near Kathmandu, killing all 19 people on board.
All 22 passengers and crew on board a passenger plane that crashes in eastern Nepal are killed. Most of the victims are pilgrims from Bhutan, with one US citizen also among the dead.
A small Agni Air plane crashes in bad weather near Kathmandu, killing all 14 people on board including four Americans, a Japanese and a British national.