At least 50 dead as Bangladeshi passenger plane crashes at Kathmandu airport - UPDATED-2

At least 50 dead as Bangladeshi passenger plane crashes at Kathmandu airport - <span style="color: red;">UPDATED-2
# 12 March 2018 12:53 (UTC +04:00)

At least 50 people are thought to have died after a Bangladeshi plane with 67 passengers on board crashed near Kathmandu airport on Monday as it was coming in to land, APA reported citing the Telegraph.

An army spokesperson told Reuters that at least 50 were dead, although other estimates of the death toll varied as emergency workers continued their operation at the burning wreckage.

"There were 67 passengers and 4 crew members" aboard the plane, said airport spokesman Prem Nath Thakur said earlier in the day.

"So far 20 injured have been taken to the hospital. Police and army are trying to cut apart the plane to rescue others," he added.

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15:34

A police official says at least 38 people were killed and 23 injured when a plane crashed as it landed at the Kathmandu airport in Nepal, APA reported citing the Associated Press.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said 10 people remained unaccounted for in Monday's crash.

The plane, a twin-propeller Bombardier Dash 8 flying from Bangladesh, swerved repeatedly before it crashed, landing near the runway.

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15:15

At least eight passengers are dead as an aircraft of US-Bangla Airlines crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu of Nepal today, said Raj Kumar Chhetri, general manager of the airport, APA reported citing The Daily Star.

However, Kathmandu-based Kantipur Daily reported at least 20 bodies have been pulled out from the fuselage of the plane.

The black box of the aircraft was also recovered from the spot, the GM said.

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13:50

A US-Bangla airlines aircraft carrying 67 passengers crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu, Nepal on Monday. The TIA authority has suspected casualty but the details are sketchy, APA reported citing the Kathmandu Post.

Tourism Ministry Joint Secretary Suresh Acharya said 17 injured passengers have been rescued and sent to different hospitals for treatment.

Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) Sanjiv Gautam said that the plane was out of control when it attempted to land on the runway. “The aircraft was permitted to land from the Southern tip of the runway flying 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 Prem Nath Thakur, the 78-seater Bombardier Dash 8 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.

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