Six killed in Nepalese Army plane crash

The British Norman-Islander plane went missing after losing contact with control tower yesterday along the border with India and army said they had recovered all the six bodies.

The remains of the plane were found scattered in a dense forest in remote Bowang village of Baglung district, 300 km west of Kathmandu, Nepal Army spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri said.

The Army said the dead included Bikash Singh Rathaur and Diwakar Karki, both of whom were Nepal Army majors, Dr Rabita Pathak, a second lieutenant, and an army patient and his brother who was escorting him, the Republica reported.

Rescuers reached the spot early in the morning and conducted hours of search before locating the bodies. The plane was returning to the capital, Kathmandu, carrying the patient.

The reason for the crash is not yet known. The army spokesperson said dense fog, snow and extreme cold had hampered the rescue efforts and bad light prevented army helicopters from landing at the crash site initially.

"The wreckage of the aircraft was scattered as far as 100 meters away," he said. The army lost contact with the plane at 7:05 pm local time (last evening) after it had taken off from Nepalgunj in southwestern Nepal and was seen nose-diving in the Dhorpatan hunting reserve.