A passenger plane from Bangladesh carrying 71 people crash landed in Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu on Monday afternoon. The US-Bangla plane crashed after becoming unstable while landing, an airport official told The Kathmandu Post.
Several bodies have been recovered from the crash site, AFP reported, quoting an unidentified official. An unidentified official told AP that 38 bodies were recovered, 23 injured, and 10 still unaccounted for. “We have recovered 50 dead bodies so far,” Reuters quoted Army spokesman Gokul Bhandari as saying.
The airport authority and Nepal Army personnel undertook rescue operations.
“We are trying to bring the fire under control. Details are awaited,” airport spokesperson Birendra Prasad Shrestha told Reuters. The Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Sanjiv Gautam said the aircraft was permitted to land from the southern side of the runway, but it landed from the northern side.“We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the unusual landing,” he added.
Tribhuvan International Airport General Manager Rajkumar Chhetri said that the pilot had not followed the air traffic controller’s directions. “When the control tower asked the pilot if there was any problem, the pilot said everything is okay, Chhetri told The Kathmandu Post. “However, instead of landing from the north side, the plane went towards north-east and made two rounds.”
The airport was shut following the crash.
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