15 die as plane flies into cliff

Kathmandu: Thirteen Indians on a pilgrimage were killed along with two crew members when their 20-seater aircraft slammed into a cliff in western Nepal yesterday, less than seven months after ten Indian tourists were killed in an air crash.

The Agni Air Dornier plane, carrying 16 Indians and two Danish passengers as well as three crew members, crashed in Jomsom, known for its magnificent mountain views and the starting point for major trekking routes, at about 9.45am yesterday.

The plane had taken off from Pokhara airport at 9.30am and was headed for Jomson, about 60 kilometres away, when it crashed 15 minutes later on a cliff, while it was attempting to return to Pokhara following a technical glitch, Yogendra Kunwar, assistant manager at the traffic control room in Pokhara airport, was quoted as saying.

The Indian embassy here said that of the 18 passengers, 16 were Indians.

"Six people have been rescued from the crash out of which three are Indian nationals. These include Tirumala Kidambi Sreekanth, Tirumala Kidambi Sreevardhini (9) and Tirumala Kidambi Sreepada (6), who are currently undergoing treatment at Manipal Hospital, Pokhara. The other 13 Indians are feared to be dead," it said in a press release.

Laxmi Raj Sharma, a district official, said that 15 bodies had been recovered.

Killed

Pilot Prabhu Sharan Pathak and co-pilot J.D. Maharjan were among the dead. The other victims are Indians who were on a pilgrimage to the famous Muktinath temple, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists.

According to myrepublica.com., the Indians killed in the crash were K. Mamanya, S.K. Arora, M. Handa, M. Arora, R. Handa, K. Arora, T. Sachdev, G. Sachdev, Sanaim Sudhar, G. Raman, and Latha Echambade. Also dead were two passengers identified only as Mr Kumar and Mrs Kumar.

A photograph showed one of the Danish nationals being helped by two security personnel and the distraught stewardess being carried on a stretcher.

Jomsom airport, with the airstrip carved out of the mountain, is about 200km northwest of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. The pilot, experts said, have to manoeuvre skillfully to land the plane in the treacherous mountain area. Deputy Inspector General of Police Gynanedra Singh Bhandari said the plane crashed behind the army barracks, enabling a quick rescue operation. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai expressed sorrow over the deaths and hoped for early recovery of the injured.