Tourist plane crashes near Kathmandu, killing 19

KATHMANDU, Sept. 25 Kyodo -
A small plane carrying tourists to view Mt. Everest crashed in bad weather Sunday near Nepal's capital Kathmandu, killing all 19 people on board including one Japanese national, officials said.
The turboprop Beech aircraft owned by Buddha Air crashed into a tree-covered hill in Kotdanda of Lalitpur district, a few kilometers south of Kathmandu, said Rupesh Joshi, marketing manager of the privately owned airline. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
State-run Nepal television confirmed that 18 bodies were pulled out from the plane's wreckage by locals and police. One person who was found alive later died while receiving treatment at a hospital in the district, the television said.
The Rescue Coordination Center of Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport confirmed that there were 10 Indian, two American, one Japanese and three Nepali passengers. Three Nepali crew members were also on the flight.
Buddha Air identified the Japanese tourist as Toshinori Uejima. Other details about him were not immediately known.
The plane left Kathmandu at 6:39 a.m. on a sightseeing tour of Mt. Everest region, but it returned without completing the tour owing to poor weather conditions.
The airport lost contact with the aircraft at 7:31 a.m., around the time it is believed to have crashed, according to the airline.
Weather conditions in and around Kathmandu were foggy at the time of the crash.

2011-09-25 21:18:20