Plane crash kills 22
NEPAL: A small plane crashed in the Himalayan foothills of remote
east Nepal, killing all 22 people onboard, an official said on Thursday.
The Twin Otter aircraft, operated by Tara Air between Lamidanda and
capital Kathmandu, had lost contact shortly after takeoff on Wednesday
from the mountainous airstrip and probably ploughed into the
9,000-feet-high hill, officials said.
"The plane hit the hill by nose. It has broken into pieces. There are
no survivors," Bimlesh Lal Karna, an airport official in Kathmandu said.
The passengers were pilgrims returning from a shrine in Lamidanda in
Khotang district, 162 kilometres (101 miles) east of Kathmandu, and
likely included one foreigner and several Bhutanese refugees living in
Nepal, district administrator Keshav Acharya said.
Kathmandu, Thursday, Reuters |