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Nepal Army plane crash: Major Ale critical, Steward Khadka stable (Update)
Pilot-in-Command Colonel Kailash Gurung died while co-pilot Anita Ale and Steward Purna Bahadur Khadka sustained serious injuries when a Nepal Army cargo plane crashed during an emergency landing at Bajura Airport in Kolti on Tuesday.Pilot-in-Command Colonel Kailash Gurung died while co-pilot Anita Ale and Steward Purna Bahadur Khadka sustained serious injuries when a Nepal Army cargo plane crashed after overshooting the runway during an emergency landing at Bajura Airport in Kolti on Tuesday.
According to Nepal Army spokesperson Jhankar Kadayat, Major Ale is in critical condition while Steward Khadka is stable. Khadka has been brought to Kathmandu while Ale is receiving treatment at Nepalgunj Medical College.
The PZL M28 Skytruck with call sign NA-048 that took off for Simikot in Humla from Surkhet district was diverted to Bajura Airport after strong winds.
The injured were flown to Nepalgunj, Banke, on a Sita Airlines plane for treatment following the incident.
Nepal Army had dispatched a team of physician from Birendra Army Hospital in Kathmandu to Nepalgunj for treatment of the injured army personnel.
Major Ale’s right femur has been broken and she has sustained wound in head. She has been kept in ventilator, sources said.
According to Kolti-based Sita Airlines station manager Manraj Thapa, Khadka has suffered a broken arm and injuries in head.
Thapa further shared that Goma Airlines, Sita Airlines and Nepal Army’s Skytruck had diverted their flight to Simikot today owing to bad weather.
Of them, Sita Airlines had diverted its flight to Kolti. Thapa said the NA plane landed at Kolti two minutes after Sita.
It is learnt the plane overshot some 50 meters from the runway and overturned on a wheat field at around 12:10 this afternoon.
“While landing, the NA plane touched the runway almost halfway from the touchdown mark. As a result, it overshot the runway and crashed at a wheat field,” said Thapa.
According to Thapa, the NA cargo plane was carrying rice and chicken meat.
Also Read: Colonel Gurung dead as Nepal Army plane overshoots runway in Bajura (With video)
Photo Courtesy: Naresh Kumar Shahi