My comment is live on the World News Network on August 24,2010 on the Subject:"Plane crashes in Nepal with 15 on board: home ministry": Gulf News.com.

With best compliments,
B.N.Singh.

Subject :"Plane crashes in Nepal with 15 on board: home ministry": Gulf News.com

Bishwa Nath Singh from Dalmianagar (Bihar),India.

Today being August 24,2010,we have Raksha Bandhan- a sacred festival that is popular in South –East Asia on which sisters tie knot in form of Rakhi in hands of their brothers and brothers in turn pledge to their sisters to protect them even in all odds. The festival of Raksha Bandhan turned into stark tragedy in Nepal Tuesday as all 14 people aboard a private aircraft carrying tourists were feared to have been killed following a crash near Kathmandu. An eyewitness Gyan Kumar Thokuwa in Shikharpur village where the crash occurred around 7.30 A.M had said the aircraft was in flames when it crash landed near a school, breaking into pieces and scattering bodies and belongings of the passengers.’ The site is difficult to reach due to incessant rain that the site had witnessed last night, Thokuwa told private television station ABC. The villagers were guarding the bodies as rescue teams were held up by bad weather and fog. Passports and other papers were found scattered along with plane parts.’ The flight by domestic airline Agni Air was carrying 11 passengers, including six foreigners, and three crew members.Of the six tourists, one had been preliminarily identified as a Japanese in his mid-20s, four others were from the US and the sixth from Ireland. The three crew members have been identified as Captain Laxmi Prakash Vikram Shah, co-pilot Sophia Singh and air hostess Lucky Sherpa .Three of the five Nepali passengers were identified as Pemba Sherpa, I. Rizal and Om. Police spokesperson Bigyan Raj Sharma said the aircraft was headed for Lukla in northern Nepal, considered the gateway to Mt Everest. Thousands of travelers fly into Lukla, one hundred forty kilometers North-East of Kathmandu, every year to access the stunning Himalayan range that forms Nepal's Northern Border with Chinese-controlled Tibet .The five hundred fifty meter long sloping airstrip at Lukla perched on a hillside two thousand seven hundred fifty seven meters above sea level is considered one of the most difficult landings in the world.However, bad weather due to a raging monsoon prevented the aircraft from landing at the airport named after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, forcing it to come back towards Kathmandu. Nepal’s official media said the pilot had reported that the engine generator had failed. On the way to the capital, the aircraft crashed in Makwanpur district, close to Kathmandu valley. Despite the closeness to the capital, lack of motor able roads and inclement weather prevented rescue teams, including an army helicopter carrying doctors, from reaching the crash site for hours. This is the second major air disaster suffered by Nepal in two years. Bad weather, pilot error, difficult terrain, bad local airports and technical failures are held to be the main causes. Most of the crashes occur in monsoon. In 2008, a domestic airline crashed in the Everest region, killing twenty four people, including twelve German tourists, a Nepali minister and his wife and noted conservationists. The crash comes at a time Nepal is celebrating the entry of a Nepali airline to Bhutan, the first international airline to start flights to the Buddhist kingdom. It also clouds efforts to celebrate 2011 as tourism year targeted to bring one million tourists. Though, the chances of any survival in this latest ill-fated tragedy seems to be very remote. Had there been any, the news must have flashed by that eye-witness of the tragedy and villagers guarding the ill-fated site though the official announcement is awaited! Let us all join to condole passing away of all those who lost their lives in this ill-fated crash and convey our heartfelt condolences to their bereaved families and urge the Nepal Govt. to provide suitable compensation to the nearest kith and kin of all those who lost their lives and their soul rushed to heavenly abode to rest in peace!


World News Network
August 24,2010.