8 years ago
Friday, September 28, 2012
19 die as plane of trekkers crashes after hitting bird
A plane carrying trekkers to the Mount Everest region hit a bird and crashed just after take-off in Nepal’s capital, killing the 19 Nepali, British, and Chinese people on board.
The pilot of the domestic Sita Air flight reported trouble two minutes after take-off and appeared to have been trying to turn back, said Katmandu airport official Ratish Chandra Suman.
The crash site is only 500m from the airport, and the wrecked plane was pointing toward the airport area. Suman said the plane hit a vulture just after it took off, causing the crash.
Suman said he could not confirm whether the plane was already on fire before it crashed. Mobile phone footage shot by locals showed that the front section of the plane was on fire when it first hit the ground and that the pilot apparently had attempted to land the plane on open ground beside a river.
The fire quickly spread to the rear, but the tail was still in one piece at the scene near the Manohara River on the south-west edge of Katmandu. Villagers were unable to approach the plane because of the fire, and it took some time for firefighters to reach the area and bring the fire under control.
Soldiers and police sifted through the crash wreckage looking for bodies and documents to help identify the victims.
Seven passengers were British and five were Chinese; the other four passengers and the three crew members were from Nepal, authorities said.
Large numbers of local people and security forces gathered at the crash site. The victims’ charred bodies were taken by vans to a hospital morgue.
Relatives of the Nepalese victims cried as they gathered at the Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, where all the victims’ bodies were taken.
The weather in Kathmandu and surrounding areas was clear yesterday morning, and the plane was one of the first of the day to take off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuwan International Airport. Other flights reported no problems, and the airport remained open and operated normally after the crash.
The plane was heading for Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest. Thousands of Westerners make treks in the region around the world’s highest peak each year. Autumn is considered the best time to trek the foothills of the Himalayan peaks.
Airline officials identified the British crash victims as Raymond Eagle, 58, Christopher Franc Davey, 51, Vincent Kelly, 52, Darren Kelly, 45, Timothy Oakes, 57, Stephen Holding, 60, and Benjamin Ogden, 27.
The crash site is only 500m from the airport, and the wrecked plane was pointing toward the airport area. Suman said the plane hit a vulture just after it took off, causing the crash.
Suman said he could not confirm whether the plane was already on fire before it crashed. Mobile phone footage shot by locals showed that the front section of the plane was on fire when it first hit the ground and that the pilot apparently had attempted to land the plane on open ground beside a river.
The fire quickly spread to the rear, but the tail was still in one piece at the scene near the Manohara River on the south-west edge of Katmandu. Villagers were unable to approach the plane because of the fire, and it took some time for firefighters to reach the area and bring the fire under control.
Soldiers and police sifted through the crash wreckage looking for bodies and documents to help identify the victims.
Seven passengers were British and five were Chinese; the other four passengers and the three crew members were from Nepal, authorities said.
Large numbers of local people and security forces gathered at the crash site. The victims’ charred bodies were taken by vans to a hospital morgue.
Relatives of the Nepalese victims cried as they gathered at the Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, where all the victims’ bodies were taken.
The weather in Kathmandu and surrounding areas was clear yesterday morning, and the plane was one of the first of the day to take off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuwan International Airport. Other flights reported no problems, and the airport remained open and operated normally after the crash.
The plane was heading for Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest. Thousands of Westerners make treks in the region around the world’s highest peak each year. Autumn is considered the best time to trek the foothills of the Himalayan peaks.
Airline officials identified the British crash victims as Raymond Eagle, 58, Christopher Franc Davey, 51, Vincent Kelly, 52, Darren Kelly, 45, Timothy Oakes, 57, Stephen Holding, 60, and Benjamin Ogden, 27.
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