Plane carrying 71 people crashes after setting on fire before landing

A plane has crashed with 67 people and four crew members after setting on fire while trying to land. Some survivors are said to have been pulled from the wreckage, however it is also being reported that bodies have been found.





Witnesses described seeing the plane flying at a low height before crashing onto a football pitch at Nepal’s only international airport in the capital Kathmandu. Amanda Summers, an American who works in Nepal, watched the crash happen from the terrace of her home office. ‘It was flying so low I thought it was going to run into the mountains,’ she said. She said it was unclear if it had reached the runway when it landed. ‘All of a sudden there was a blast and then another blast,’ she said.

At least 20 injured people were taken to hospital after being pulled alive from the wreckage (Picture: Bishnu Sapkota) 

Nepalese rescuers stand near a passenger plane from Bangladesh that crashed at the airport in Kathmandu (AP Photo/Niranjan Shreshta)

 ‘There were 67 passengers and 4 crew members’ aboard the plane, said airport spokesman Prem Nath Thakur. ‘So far 20 injured have been taken to the hospital. Police and army are trying to cut apart the plane to rescue others,’ he added.

However, they also confirmed that there were some fatalities. Live footage posted on Facebook showed the towering columns of smoke rising behind the runway, where another plane stood waiting on the tarmac. Emergency vehicles appeared to be heading into the smoke as people watched from a distance or filmed on their mobile phones. There were four crew members on the plane when it crashed (Picture: AP Photo/Niranjan Shreshta) 

Nepal has suffered a number of air disasters in recent years, dealing a blow to its tourist industry. Its poor air safety record has been blamed largely on inadequate maintenance, inexperienced pilots and substandard management. In early 2016, a Twin Otter turboprop aircraft slammed into a mountainside in Nepal killing all 23 people on board. Two days later, two pilots were killed when a small passenger plane crash-landed in the country’s hilly midwest.