News / Asia

Nepal Plane Crash Kills 15, Six Survive

Unidentified survivor of a plane crash is carried for treatment to a nearby city of Pokhara, Nepal. The plane crashed into a mountain in the Himalayas while trying to land at an airport in northern Nepa killing 15 people and critically injuring six.
Unidentified survivor of a plane crash is carried for treatment to a nearby city of Pokhara, Nepal. The plane crashed into a mountain in the Himalayas while trying to land at an airport in northern Nepa killing 15 people and critically injuring six.
TEXT SIZE - +
VOA News
Police in Nepal say a plane crash near an airport in the country's north has killed 15 people.

Authorities say six people on board, including two Danes and two children, survived Monday's crash.  The plane, belonging to local carrier Agni Air, went down while trying to land at an airport in Jomsom, a hub for Hindu pilgrims and trekkers.

Officials say just before the crash, the pilot told air traffic control that the plane was having technical problems and that he was diverting back to the city of Pokhara for an emergency landing.

The Jomsom airport, at an elevation of 2,700 meters, is known for being among the world's most dangerous.

Nepal's Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai expressed his condolences for the crash.

This is the second deadly accident for Agni Air in less than two years.  In August of 2010, one of the airline's planes crashed in the Himalayan region, killing 14 people - including four Americans.

And last September, a Buddha Air flight carrying tourists to view Mount Everest crashed near Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, killing all 19 people on board.


Some information for this report was provided by Reuters..

You May Like

Video NASA Introduces New Astronaut Candidates

NASA says half appointees are women, making this highest percentage of female astronauts in one class More

Singapore, Malaysia Choke as Illegal Indonesia Forest Fires Rage

Illegal clearing of forests by burning is a recurrent problem, particularly during annual dry season that stretches from June to September More

Scandals Hit Obama's Standing With US Voters

Obama's approval rating fell eight percentage points over past month to 45 percent More

Featured Videos

Your JavaScript is turned off or you have an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.
Your JavaScript is turned off or you have an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.
Video

Video Egyptian Support for Syrian Opposition is Words Over Action

Egypt has further aligned itself with those trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But as VOA's Elizabeth Arrott reports from Cairo, it remains unclear how far Egypt will back its words with action.