Buddha Air plane crashes at Lalitpur; all 19 on board killed

A Buddha Air plane returning from mountain flight crashed at Kotdanda hill in Lalitpur district Sunday morning, killing all 19 persons on board including three crew members.

Security personnel assembling the dead bodies of Buddha Air crash victims...

According to locals and security personnel involved in rescue, 18 persons were killed on the spot while one passenger, Nirajan Karmacharya, 36, who was rescued alive, died while undergoing treatment at B&B Hospital at Saatdobato, Lalitpur.

"I will survive. I am not going to die," Nirajan had said just as he was being rushed to hospital by rescuers in a critical condition, according to Chiranjivi Acharya, former chairman of Lamatar VDC in Lalitpur, who was involved in the rescue.

The crew of the Beechcraft 1900-D was comprised of captain J.B Tamrakar, co-pilot Padma Adhikari and air hostess Ashmita Shrestha. There were eight Indians, six Europeans and two Nepalis apart from the three crew members on board the ill-fated aircraft.

The plane had lost contact with the airport tower at 7:31 am and had gone missing before crashing at Kotdanda. A Nepal Army recue helicopter had returned as it could not land near the crash site due to bad weather.

Locals, police and army personnel have been involved in rescue works at the crash site. The area is some 20km from Kathmandu. nepalnews.com