A Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla carrying 71 passengers and crew members on Monday crashed, killing 49 people on the spot.
The plane reportedly veered off the runway before bursting into flames at Nepal’s Kathmandu airport.
The police spokesman, Manoj Neupane, who narrated the ordeal, said that rescuers managed to pull out dead bodies from the burnt plane after the fire was put out.
The airline authority, in response to the incident, blamed air traffic control, but the Nepali authorities insist that Flight BS211 veered off the runway during an “unusual” landing.”
A survivor, who managed to break through a window, revealed that the plane made a violent shake before it went into flames.
Neupane further stated that no fewer than 22 people have been taken to the hospital and are currently receiving treatment for various degrees of injuries sustained.
Meanwhile, Nepalese Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli, in his condolence message promised an immediate investigation into the tragic incident. He said that Nepal has a poor air safety record, and clarified that the eight people earlier reported missing have been presumed dead by the authorities.
The Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Sanjiv Gautam, said the aircraft, which was flying from the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, was a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop.
He said the plane started acting strangely as it approached Kathmandu.
Gautam said,
“The aircraft was permitted to land from the southern side of the runway flying over Koteshwor, but it landed from the northern side. We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the unusual landing.”
However, US-Bangla Airlines Chief Executive, Imran Asif, who spoke at his office in Dhaka, blamed Kathmandu air traffic control for the sad incident.
He said,
“There were wrong directions from the tower. Our pilot was not at fault.”
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