Scores dead in plane crash in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, Nepal — A passenger plane from Bangladesh slammed into an empty field and erupted in flames just beyond the runway at the airport in Nepal’s capital on Monday, and officials said at least 49 of the 71 people on board had died.

Huge, dark gray columns of smoke uncoiled from the field as rescuers dashed into the crumpled fuselage and tried to pull out as many people as they could.

“The Nepali people were saying, ‘Bachaau, bachaau,’ which means ‘Save me, save me,’” said Balkrishna Upadhyay, an army rescuer. “The Bangladeshis were screaming out in English: ‘Help me, please help me.’”

“It was horrible,” Mr. Upadhyay said.

The grass was flattened and blackened, scattered with torn papers, shredded seats, pieces of mangled foam and one metal water bottle lying on its own. A few big pieces of the plane, including the tail, were still intact and smoking minutes after the 2:15 p.m. crash; the rest was burned.

The plane, US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211, was landing at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on a flight from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, when it crashed. Witnesses said it was wobbling in the air and seemed unbalanced as it approached.

Several airport workers said the plane had overshot the runway by about 150 feet, nose-diving into the deserted field just beyond the airport fence. A few minutes later, while the first batch of rescuers were pulling panicked passengers out of the front of the plane, an intense fire burst out at the back.

Nepali police officials said the flight was carrying 67 passengers and four crew members.

The cause of the crash was not clear, officials said, though the air Monday was especially hazy with dust and smog.