Tourist-plane crash in Nepal kills all 19 on board

A PLANE carrying tourists to view Mount Everest crashed while attempting to land in Nepal yesterday, killing all 19 people on board, including 13 foreigners, officials said.

Ten Indians, two Americans and one Japanese tourist were among the victims, said Nepalese tourism secretary Ganesh Raj Joshi said.

The turboprop plane belonging to Buddha Air was also carrying three Nepalese passengers and three crew members when it crashed in Bisankunarayan village, just a few miles south of the capital, Katmandu.

A witness, Haribol Poudel, told Nepalese news channel Avenues Television that the plane hit the roof of a house in the village and broke into several pieces. No casualties were reported on the ground.

Poudel said it was foggy and visibility was very low in the mountainous area.

Rewant Kuwar, an official at Katmandu’s international airport rescue office, said 18 bodies were pulled out of the plane’s wreckage, and another victim died after being rushed to a hospital.

The two Americans were identified as Andrew Wade and Natalie Neilan, while the Japanese citizen was Toshinori Uejima. Further details were not immediately known.

The Beechcraft 1900D plane had taken the passengers to view Mount Everest and other peaks on a one-hour “mountain flight” and was returning to Katmandu.

The Nepalese government has ordered an investigation into the crash.

The weather yesterday morning was foggy and the visibility was poor around Katmandu, according to meteorologist Rajendra Shrestha.

The surrounding mountains were enveloped in fog and it was raining at the time of the crash.