Fifty
people are feared killed after a Bangladeshi plane with 67 passengers on board
crashed near Kathmandu airport on Monday as it was coming in to land, officials
said, as firefighters battled to extinguish the burning wreckage and rescue
passengers.
"31 died at the spot and nine died at two hospitals in
Kathmandu," police spokesman Manoj Neupane told news agency AFP, adding
another 23 were injured.
Live footage posted on Facebook showed the towering columns
of smoke rising behind the runway, where another plane stood waiting on the
tarmac.
"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.
Rescue workers recovered badly burnt bodies from the
wreckage of the plane.
Emergency vehicles appeared to be heading into the smoke as
people watched from a distance or filmed on their mobile phones.
"We are trying to bring the fire under control. Details
are awaited," airport spokesman Birendra Prasad Shrestha said, adding that
the airport had been shut down and all other flights diverted.
"We're now concentrating on evacuating the
passengers," the official added.
Mountainous Nepal is notorious for air accidents. Small
aircraft often run into trouble at provincial airstrips.
To the average watcher, the death of 50 plane passengers is more or less just statistics.
These were people like us; with hopes and plans.
Their loved ones will be devastated.
This life...
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