Several killed, many injured as Bangladesh plane catches fire at Kathmandu airport
Kathmandu, Mar 12 (IBNS) : Several passengers were killed as an US-Bangla Biman aircraft carrying 67 passengers and four crew burst into flames immediately after landing at Tribhuvan International airport in Nepal’s Kathmandu on Monday, media reports said.
Kathmandu Post quoted Tourism Ministry Joint Secretary Suresh Acharya as saying that 25 injured passengers have been rescued and sent to different hospitals for treatment. TIA said there were 37 males, 27 females and two child on board the aircraft.
Bangladesh's Daily Star said at least eight people have been killed in the accident.
However, Kathmandu-based Kantipur Daily reported at least 20 bodies have been pulled out from the fuselage of the plane.
Another report quoted airport security sources as saying that there were many bodies lying in a charred condition.
The plane, coming from Dhaka, caught fire immediately after it hit the ground off the runway. The cause of the accident is not yet known.
Kathmandu Post quoted Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) Sanjiv Gautam as saying that the plane was out of control when it attempted to land on the runway. “The aircraft was permitted to land from the Southern side of the runway over Koteshwor but it landed from the Northern side,” said Gautam suspecting the aircraft might have sustained some technical glitches.
“We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the unusual landing,” he added.
According to TIA spokesperson PremNath Thakur, the 78-seater Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft caught fire after it careened off the runway during landing and crashed onto a football ground near TIA. The aircraft with call sign S2-AGU took off from Dhaka and landed at TIA at 2:20 pm.
Rescue team of TIA and Nepal Army personnel have been engaged in rescue operation.
All flights in and out of TIA have been cancelled following the crash.
(Image: Youtube Video Grab, Video: Journalist Suraj Kunwar Facebook page )
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