Kathmandu, Tue May 15 2012
Thirteen Indians were among 15 people killed on Monday when a small plane with 21 people onboard crashed in northern Nepal after hitting a hill top while attempting to land at a high-altitude airport.
Six others, including three Indians and two Danish nationals, miraculously survived the crash of the Dornier 9N AIG aircraft belonging to private carrier Agni Air.
The plane, which flew from the resort town of Pokhara on its way to Jomsom, crashed at 9.45 am local time while landing at the mountain airstrip, said an official at the Rescue Coordination Committee of the Tribhuvan International Airport.
The aircraft crashed at an elevation of 9,000ft just behind the Jomsom Mountain Resort Hotel near the airport while turning left to divert to Pokhara after encountering trouble, officials said.
The Indians killed in the crash were identified by the airport authorities as K. Mahanya, S.K. Arora, M. Handa, M. Arora, R. Handa, K.O. Arora, T. Sachdev, G. Sachdev, Saniam Sudhar, G. Raman, Latha Echambadi and two others identified only as Mr and Mrs Kumar.
Two others killed in the crash were Nepalese crew members and identified as pilot Prabhu Sharan Pathak and co-pilot J.D. Maharjan. The passengers had chartered the flight to take them from the central tourist hub of Pokhara to Muktinath, a famous Hindu pilgrimage in Jomsom near the Tibetan border at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass.
Rescuers have so far recovered nine bodies from the wreckage. Three Indians including two children, a Nepalese airhostess and two Danes have been rescued alive from the crash site.
The Indians who survived were identified as Tirumala Kidambi Sreekanth (36) and his daughters Tirumala Kidambi Sreevardhini (9) and Tirumala Kidambi Sreepada (6). The girls' mother died in the accident.
'Please come and take us away from here,' wailed Sreepada from her hospital bed in Pokhara.
A software engineer with Infosys, her father had returned from the US only last year. A pall of gloom has engulfed the family's house in Vadapalani area in Chennai.
Nepalese rescue workers and officials inspect the site of a plane crash near Jomsom, 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital, Katmandu, Nepal
The little girls are unaware that their mother is no more. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai extended condolences to the victims' families and wished speedy recovery of the injured. Nepali Congress Party leader Ram Chandra Paudel demanded a probe into the tragedy.
The external affairs ministry has set up a round-the-clock helpline at the Indian embassy in Kathmandu. The helpline numbers are 00-977-1-4423702, 00-977-1-4410900.
'I am deeply saddened to hear about the tragic air crash that occurred earlier this morning near Jomsom airport. I would like to convey my deep condolences to the families of all those who have lost their lives in this accident.
'Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all those who have lost their near and dear ones,' external affairs minister S.M. Krishna said.
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