KATHMANDU, March 15: Bangladeshi Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism AKM Shahjahan Kamal, who is in Kathmandu to take updates about the US-Bangla airplane crash, called on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Oli briefed visiting Bangladeshi minister Kamal about rescue efforts and medical treatment now being provided to the injured passengers. The prime minister during the meeting also expressing sorrow over the tragic incident in which 49 passengers including 4 crew members were killed. Among the deceased were 22 Bangladeshi passengers.
The prime minister also expressed his commitment to provide additional support for the treatment of the injured passengers as well as arrangement for sending back the bodies of Bangladeshi passengers.
A total of 22 passengers had managed to survive the deadly plane crash and are undergoing medical treatment at various hospitals in Kathmandu. Among the injured passengers, ten are Bangladeshi.
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"Prime minister also informed the visiting minister that a probe committee has been formed to investigate into the accident and that truth about the cause of the crash will be made public soon," PM Oli's Chief Political Advisor Bishnu Rimal said, adding, "The PM also said that the government will take necessary measures to avoid such incidents in the future."
Similarly, during the meeting with the home minister, the visiting Bangladeshi minister thanked the government of Nepal for its prompt rescue efforts and medical treatment of the injured passengers, according to the home minister.
Bangladeshi Minister Kamal informed the home minister that the Bangladeshi government will also facilitate the investigations into the incident initiated by the government of Nepal as well as help take measures to avoid such incidents from occurring in the future.
Similarly, he also informed that Bangladeshi medical specialists for burn injuries have expressed their willingness to visit Nepal to assist in the treatment of the injured passengers. A six-member medical team from Bangladesh is ready to visit Nepal, according to The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper.
Home Minister Thapa said that the process of identifying the bodies of the Bangladeshi passengers killed in the crash is underway and arrangements are in place to repatriate the bodies as soon as possible. He said that the government will facilitate in the process if medical specialists want to visit Nepal or some injured Bangladeshi passengers want to seek medical treatment elsewhere.
Prior to the meeting with the prime minister and home minister, visiting minister Kamal visited various hospitals and met with Bangladeshi passengers undergoing medical treatment.
Bangladeshi declares Thursday as day of mourning
Bangladesh has decided to mark Thursday as a day of mourning in memory of the 22 Bangladeshi passengers who lost their lives in the US-Bangla Airlines plane crash in Kathmandu two days ago.
US-Bangla Airlines suspends Kathmandu flights indefinitely
Two days after the plane crash in Kathmandu, the US-Bangla Airlines in Bangladesh said it has suspended all flights between Kathmandu and Dhaka for an indefinite period from Wednesday. The airlines has cited shortage of aircraft for the suspension.
Talking to The Daily Star, , Kamrul Islam, public relations general manager of the US-Bangla Airlines said, "Our flight operations between Dhaka and Kathmandu have been shut from today (Wednesday) due to shortage of aircrafts."
