Nepal plane crash: no survivors found

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/17/nepal-plane-crash-no-survivors

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Rescuers in Nepalhave found the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed into a snow-covered mountain and burst into flames, killing all 18 people on board including a small child.

Rescuers made their way on foot through thick snow for eight miles to the crash site, officials said. Air traffic control had lost contact with the state-owned Nepal Airlines Twin Otter on Sunday afternoon in poor visibility because of snow, rain and fog.

"Our plane was technically airworthy, and we believe it was the weather that caused the crash," said Ram Hari Sharma of Nepal Airlines. He said there would be a full investigation.

The state-run airline is often criticised over allegations of corruption and flying old planes. The European Union last year banned all Nepalese airlines from flying to Europe because of poor aviation safety records.

The plane's charred wreckage was flung across a wide area, said police official Bam Bahadur Bhandari. Some victims were identified using documents found in the wreckage, he added.

A helicopter was able to spot the wreckage earlier near Machinelek, about 160 miles west of the capital, Kathmandu, but the only way to access the remote location was on foot. Police and soldiers were trying to dig a temporary helipad for rescue helicopters.

The plane was flying from Kathmandu to Jumla, about 250 miles to the west, when it made an unscheduled fuelling stop in the city of Pokhara, about a third of the way into the journey.

The 43-year-old aircraft, built by De Havilland Canada, had 15 passengers and three crew members on board. One of the passengers was believed to be a Danish national, while the rest on board, including the infant, were Nepalese.

In May, another plane of the same make and model operated by Nepal Airlines crashed while attempting to land at a mountain airstrip in northern Nepal, injuring all 21 people on board.