Agni Air Plane Crash at Shekharpur V. D. C. Bastipur
A small aircraft owned by Agni Air with over a dozen people onboard crashed in Makawanpur, southwest of Kathmandu, early in the morning Tuesday.
14 persons—six foreigners, five Nepalese and three crew members—have been killed in the mishap, eye witnesses have confirmed.
The deceased crew members have been identified as Pilot Laxman Prakash Bikram Shah, Co-Pilot Sofia Singh and Air Hostess Sarah Sherpa.
Five of the deceased passengers have been identified as R. Rijal, P. Humagain, K. Rai, P. Bhote and P. Sherpa.
Media reports said the Dornier plane was carrying 15 people including the crew members, and was returning to the capital from Lukla near Mount Everest.
The exact cause of the accident is not known, but officials suspect bad weather that could have led to the crash.
Locals of Makawanpur told Kantipur FM that the plane crashed into a field in Shikharpur village, which lies south west of Kathmandu.
“The plane remains broken into pieces in the field right next to a school building,” Pratap Lama, a local said.
“The human bodies also remain in pieces … we are just shocked.”
He added, “There was no big noise or any fire that we noticed before the crash.”
Officials said Nepal Army is sending its rescue teams from Makawanpur and Kathmandu.
Meanwhile, a Nepal Army team from Phaparbari and a police team from Hetauda have been deployed in the incident site for rescue purposes.
Rescue teams will be sent in helicopters from the Capital as soon as the weather condition improves, Nepal Army Spokesperson Rabindra Chettri informed.
The weather of Kathmandu valley had worsened in the wee hours of Tuesday, with torrential rains lashing and thick clouds and fogs blanketing the surrounding hills — clearly affecting the visibility for flights.
(Details awaited)
