Kathmandu, March 12 (BDNews24): At least 50 passengers and crew of a US-Bangla aircraft were killed when it burst into flames on landing at the Tribhuvan Airport, here on Monday. Brig Gen Gokul Bhandari, the Nepal army spokesman, told the AP that 50 people had died and the fate of the others was unknown.
The plane had arrived from Dhaka in Bangladesh.
Nepal Police Spokesperson DIG Manjo Neupane confirmed to Kathmandu Post that 40 people died in the crash.
Neupane told the newspaper that 31 bodies were pulled out from the crashed plane and nine others were declared dead at different hospitals.
The people on board the plane included over 32 Bangladeshis and 33 Nepali nationals, a US-Bangla spokesman told the media in Dhaka.
There were four crew members aboard the plane, the Himalayan reported.
Twenty-five people were rescued and taken to Kathmandu Medical College, Teaching Hospital in Sinamangal.
However, eight of those rescued were pronounced dead upon arrival, the newspaper said citing TIA Spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur.
The plane shot off the runway while it was about to crash into the hanger and immediately caught fire.
Many fire-fighting engines and ambulances rushed to the accident site immediately as news of the crash broke.
The officials have suspected technical glitch as the cause of the incident.
The flight crashed into a football field about 2:20pm local time, according to The Kathmandu Post.
The airplane caught fire after the crash, the newspaper said. Images on social media showed heavy black smoke rising from the airport.
