US-Bangla plane crashes in Nepal, 30 passengers rescued

A US-Bangla airlines aircraft has crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu today, The Kathmandu Post said.

Thirty passengers were pulled out and rushed to the hospital while the fire-fighters are trying to rescue other remaining passengers, a journalist from Nepal told The Daily Star.

The 76-seated aircraft took off at 12:30pm from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka with around 70 passengers, said -Bangla airlines' General Manager of Marketing (support) Kamrul Islam.

Contacted over phone, Abdullah al Mamun, managing director of US-Bangla Airlines, told The Daily Star around 3:20pm that they were trying to contact with the control tower of TIA to know what exactly happened to the craft and would inform immediately.

The aircraft careened off the runway during landing and crashed onto a football ground near TIA, The Kathmandu Post said quoting TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur.

The aircraft with call sign S2-AGU took off from Dhaka and landed at TIA at 2:20 pm.

The aircraft caught fire following the crash. Rescue team of TIA and Nepal Army personnel have been engaged in rescue operation.

The TIA authority has suspected casualties. But the details are sketchy.