Plane Crash Claims 50 Lives at Kathmandu Airport

In an unfortunate incident, a Bangladeshi aircraft with 71 passengers on board and four crew crashed while landing at the Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on March 12, 2018.

As per the preliminary reports, the crash of US-Bangla aircraft Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 resulted in 50 death casualties with around 17 on-board passengers rescued.

“We are trying to bring the fire under control. Details are awaited. The airport has been shut down and all other flights diverted. We’re now concentrating on evacuating the passengers,” informed Birendra Prasad Shrestha, TIA Spokesperson.

According to the TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur, the aircraft lost its track from the runway and moved into a football ground nearby the airport catching the fire.

“All of a sudden, the plane shook violently and there was a loud bang afterwards. I was seated near the window and was able to break out of the window. I have no recollection after I got out of the plane. I have received injuries to my head and legs but I am fortunate that I survived the ordeal,” said Basanta Bohora, one of the survivors of the accident.

With the incident, TIA has been shut down.

TIA is the only international air gateway for the domestic passengers and those travelling to Nepal. As the busiest airport, TIA covered more than 10,000 travellers per day in 2017 alone.

TIA witnessed a record 3.88 million air travelers in 2017 with a double-digit growth and a 10.74 percent rise
year-on-year.