All 18 on board Nepal plane found dead

The bodies had been burnt severely and only seven of them could be identified. They were brought to the capital for post-mortem.

February 17, 2014 10:37 am | Updated November 17, 2021 02:07 am IST - KATHMANDU

Nepalese police officers and army soldiers stand near the wreckage of Nepal Airlines Twin Otter that crashed Sunday at Khachikot in Argakhanchi district, around 300 kilometers (186 miles) in western Nepal, Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. Rescuers in Nepal on Monday found the wreckage of the passenger plane that slammed into a snow-covered mountain and burst into flames, killing all 18 people on board, including a small child, authorities said. (AP Photo/Teknarayan Bhattarai)

Nepalese police officers and army soldiers stand near the wreckage of Nepal Airlines Twin Otter that crashed Sunday at Khachikot in Argakhanchi district, around 300 kilometers (186 miles) in western Nepal, Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. Rescuers in Nepal on Monday found the wreckage of the passenger plane that slammed into a snow-covered mountain and burst into flames, killing all 18 people on board, including a small child, authorities said. (AP Photo/Teknarayan Bhattarai)

A joint security team of Nepal army and police found all the 18 people, including three crew members, dead at the site of a plane crash in western Nepal on Monday morning, said a civil aviation official.

The bodies had been burnt severely and only seven of them could be identified. They were brought to the capital for post-mortem.

The Twin Otter plane was flying to Jumla in west Nepal from Kathmandu via Pokhara on Sunday.

After refuelling at the Pokhara airport, the plane took off for Jumla at around 12.40 p.m.

About 30 minutes after the take-off, the pilot of the plane contacted Bhairahawa airport tower for diversion, citing inclement weather. Soon after, it went missing.

Due to heavy snow and rainfall, the search and rescue operation on Sunday could not locate the plane.

The wreckage was found at south west of Pokhara. Although the exact cause of the crash is not known yet, civil aviation officials have blamed inclement weather. The western parts of Nepal have witnessed heavy snowfall and rain for the past five days.

Meanwhile, the government formed a four-member probe panel to investigate the cause of the crash.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.