Tragedy struck a Chennai-based family when one of its members was killed in a plane crash in Nepal on Monday. Homemaker Latha (36), was among 21 passengers and crew on board an Agni Air flight from Pokhara to Jomsom, which crashed due to bad weather.
Other members of her family, including her husband and two daughters were among the six rescued alive from the site of the crash. They have been admitted to Manipal Hospital in Pokhara.
Latha's husband Sreekanth, 37, is an employee of Infosys. The couple have two daughters, Sreevardhini (9) and Sreepada (6), and live in Dhanalakshmi Nagar, Vadapalani.
Latha's brother-in-law, S.D. Srinivasan, said the family usually planned a holiday every year. Mr. Srinivasan is married to Latha's sister.
“This year they had decided to go on a pilgrimage to Mukthinath. We were informed this morning that Latha passed away. The Indian embassy [in Nepal] told me that Sreekanth was unconscious but had not suffered a haemorrhage. He has a swelling in his head and doctors said that it is an oedema. Sreevardhini has an eye injury and Sreepada has fractured her right leg,” he said.
Mr. Srinivasan added that both the children and their father had been admitted to a hospital in Pokhara, while Latha's body was being flown to Kathmandu.
“I have spoken to both the children and they have not been told about their mother's death. We are trying to bring the children back,” he said, adding that two members of their family would be flying to Nepal either on Monday night or Tuesday morning.
Another victim, also from Tamil Nadu, was L.S. Sudarsanam, from Kumbakonam.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has expressed her condolences to the bereaved family. The Chief Minister has also asked the Resident Commissioner of Tamil Nadu in New Delhi to take immediate steps to bring the bodies back home.
