Nepal plane crashes into hill, 15 dead

At least 15 people were killed when a plane carrying Indian pilgrims crashed this afternoon, May 14, 2012, near an airport in the northern part of the neighboring country.Nepal.

An Agni Air plane. Illustration photo:Designmarvels

The Agni Air plane crashed into a hill near the town of Jomsom and not far from the Annapurna mountain range, a branch of the Himalayas,AFPquoted local police spokesman Binod Singh.

"The plane was about to land near the airport in Jomsom. It hit a hillside and is now lodged on the other side of the hill," Mr Singh said. "Fifteen people were killed, including 13 Indian tourists and two Indian pilots.Nepal".

Spokesman Singh also said that six people miraculously survived. One of them was a flight attendant.Nepal.

The passengers had chartered the flight to take them from the city of Pokhara, a tourist hub in central Nepal, to Muktinath, a holy site for Hindus and Buddhists at the foot of the Thorong La pass in the Himalayas.

"A military barracksNepalSoldiers near the scene of the accident were sent to rescue the survivors," added local police officer Rajendra Singh Bhandari.

Agni Air marketing director Pramod Pandey said two Danish nationals were among the passengers, but their condition was unclear.

This is the second fatal accident for Agni Air in less than two years. In August 2010, one of the airline’s Everest sightseeing planes crashed in bad weather near Kathmandu, killing all 14 people on board. Four Americans, one Japanese and one Briton were among those killed.

Air travel is very popular inNepal, where road networks are limited. Many communities, especially in mountainous areas, are only accessible to the outside world by foot or by plane. Air accidents are relatively common in the country, especially during the rainy season when visibility is at its worst.

A small Buddha Air plane taking tourists on a sightseeing tour around Mount Everest crashed in September 2011, killing all 19 people on board. The Beechcraft was carrying 10 Indians, two Americans, one Japanese, three locals and three Nepalese crew members. It crashed in heavy rain and fog in Godavari, 100km from the capital.Kathmanduabout 10 km. An investigation found that the accident was caused by a combination of poor visibility and human error.

Ten months earlier, a Twin Otter plane carrying three crew members and 19 passengers crashed into a mountainous area shortly after taking off from a small airport about 140 km east of the capital Kathmandu. The passengers were mostly British tourists on a religious tour ofNepalThey chartered a Tara Air plane to a Buddhist holy site in the area.

According to Express