BAGLUNG/NEPALGUNJ: A Britten-Norman Islander of the Nepal Army (NA) crashed on a hillock called Chaudhulko Dhuri at Bowang-9, Baglung, at 7.15 pm Tuesday.[break]
The ill-fated islander, which was carrying a patient to Kathmandu and had six people on board, lost its way shortly after it took off from Nepalgunj Airport at 6.35 pm and crashed on the hillock.
There were two crew members, a doctor, medico, a patient and his elder brother on board.
The plane was one of the two gifted by the British government in July 2004 when the Maoist insurgency was at its peak and was equipped with surveillance devices.
Bikash Singh Rathaur and Diwakar Karki, both Nepal Army majors, Dr Rabita Pathak, second lieutenant, and soldiers Milan Gotame and Keshab Aidi and Aidi´s brother Ram, a policeman. Dr Pathak works at the army hospital at Nepalgunj, were on board the plane.
Doctors had referred Keshab Aidi, who was suffering from meningitis, to Kathmandu after his health did not improve while going treatment in Nepalgunj.
Locals said that the islander went down with flames after hitting the hill. “There was a sound of explosion in the hill, and we saw flames there,” said local Lal Kumari Thapa via telephone.
According to officials at Nepalgunj Airport, the plane seemed to have taken off abnormally.
The crash site is 137 km from Baglung district headquarters, and is nearly four-hour walk from the nearest police post at Dhorpatan.
The rescue team from the police and the army had not reached the crash site by the time this news story was filed.
Police has dispatched a rescue team to the crash site after the locals informed them about the crash on the hillock.
“We have dispatched a police team to the site after we were informed about the incident,” said DSP Uma Prasad Chaturbedi in Baglung. He said the crash site is so remote that even the communications sets don´t work.
“We have told the rescue team to reach places where wireless sets can work, and inform us. We expect them to inform us by the morning,” said Chaturbedi. Similarly, the Baglung Army has also sent its own team to the crash site. The team is expected to reach the place in two days.
Nepal Army Spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri, said that the plane had gone out of contact at 7:05 pm. He, however, said the accident is still not confirmed.
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