The plane crashed while trying to land at Jomsom airport in northern Nepal, injuring all 21 people on board. No one was killed
A plane crashed while trying to land at a mountain airstrip in northern Nepal early today, injuring all 21 people on board.
Four of the injured are in critical condition, police officer Bhim Bahadur Chand said.
No one was killed in the crash.
Nine passengers are Japanese tourists, and the three crew members and the other passengers are all Nepali.
The plane belonging to state-owned Nepal Airlines was trying to land at Jomsom airport, some 125 miles northwest of Katmandu, when it crashed on the banks of Kaligandaki river.
The injured were rushed to the local hospital, and those with serious injuries are being airlifted to nearby Pokhara town for treatment.
The area is popular with foreign trekkers visiting the Mount Annapurna area and Hindu pilgrims visiting the revered Muktinath temple.
Fifteen people were killed last May when a plane crashed while attempting to land at the same airport.
The lure of the Himalayas attracts more than 100,000 trekkers, including 40,000 Brits, each year to Nepal.
Visitor numbers to Everest have doubled since the end of the civil war there in 2006 – but plane crashes have become worryingly frequent in the Asian country.
Pilots and experts in Nepal fear more accidents will happen in a country where political failure and poor regulation are undermining its vital tourist industry.
Pilots say they are under too much pressure from their bosses during busy periods and that the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) isn’t capable of addressing the problems undermining safety.
They worry that heavy traffic in the Everest region could lead to a mid-air collision.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has written to CAAN asking what is being done about improving safety.
Some experts believe that one or more of Nepal’s domestic airlines will soon be placed on the EU’s blacklist.
Posts
