Passenger Plane Crashes At Nepal Airport; Dozens Of Injuries Reported

By Bill Chappell / NPR

Published March 12, 2018 at 1:09 AM PDT

This story was published more than 6 years ago.

Rescue workers rushed to the scene of a US-Bangla Airlines jetliner that crashed at an airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Monday.

A US-Bangla Airlines jet crashed as it was landing at the main airport in Kathmandu, breaking apart in a nearby field after it veered off the runway. Local media say 71 people were aboard the aircraft, which burst into flames after the crash.

Details are still emerging about the exact number of passengers and the number who were injured. Citing a tourism ministry official, The Kathmandu Post reports, "25 injured passengers have been rescued and sent to different hospitals for treatment."

At least eight people died in the crash, according to The Daily Star in Bangladesh. The newspaper cites a conversation with the airport's general manager.

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Local media say there were 67 passengers on the flight, and four crew members.

The US-Bangla airliner had been expected to land at 2:20 p.m. local time, after a flight from Dhaka. The crash forced flights from India and the Middle East to be diverted to other airports.