At least 39 people are dead after a plane crashed on the runway while landing at Tribhuvan Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal on Monday, police spokesperson Manoj Neupane told CNN.
The aircraft, which belongs to US-Bangla Airlines, a privately owned Bangladeshi carrier, caught fire while landing at 2:15 p.m. local time, the police spokesman said.
The plane crashed after approaching the runway from the wrong end, an official told CNN.
Thirty-one bodies were recovered at the crash site, and eight others died in the hospitals they were taken to. There are now 23 people receiving treatment, Neupane said.
There were 71 passengers on the plane including the crew, said Kamrul Islam, the head of public relations for for US-Bangla.
The plane approached the runway from the wrong direction, according to the manager of the airport.
“The plane had permission to land from the southern side of the runway but they instead landed from the northern side.
Authorities do not know why they did not land from the southern side,” Raj Kumar Chhetri, General Manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, told CNN.
According to Flightradar24, the plane was a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, which the company describes as “the world’s most modern turboprop.”
An airport official said the plane was flight BS 211, but hung up the phone without giving any other details. That flight originated in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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Source: CNN