Two killed as small plane crash-lands in Nepal in second tragedy within three days

Kathmandu: A small plane carrying 11 people on Friday crash-landed in a remote area in western Nepal, killing both pilots in the second aviation tragedy in the country within three days. The plane belonging to Air Kasthamandap crash-landed at Chilkhaya in Kalikot district. The ill-fated aircraft had taken off from Nepalgunj at 12.16 pm towards Jumla. There were 11 people on board the small plane. As per initial reports, the aircraft faced some technical problem and the crew members attempted to land on a field near a mountain. Two crew members-- Captain Dinesh Neupane and co-pilot Santosh Rana -- were killed in the crash, officials said. Nine passengers, all Nepalese nationals on board, were safe and they were evacuated shortly after the incident, sources at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). One of the passengers sustained injuries. The front part of the aircraft is reported to have been damaged in the incident. A chopper and a team of security personnel have been sent to the accident site for rescue operation. On Wednesday, all 23 people were killed when a plane belonging to Tara Air crashes in central Nepal. Since 1949 - the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal - there have been more than 70 crashes involving planes and helicopters, in which more than 700 people have died. In 2012, child actor Taruni Sachdev and mother Geeta Sachdev were among 15 people killed when a dornier aircraft crashed close to the Jomson airport. Taruni died in the Agni Air Flight CHT plane crash on her 14th birthday on May 14. In 2013, the European Union banned all Nepalese airlines from flying there. And in 2014, a Nepal Airlines plane crashed into the side of a snow-clad mountain in the country's west, killing 18 people.