Two people, a pilot and a co-pilot, were killed and nine others were injured Friday when a small passenger plane crashed into the mountains of northwest Nepal, according to authorities. The aviation disaster comes only two days after a another plane crash occurred in the country.
The incident occurred a little after noon when the Air Kasthamandap plane was en route to Jumla from Nepalgunj when it was forced to make an emergency landing because of a technical problem, according to The Kathmandu Post.
Witnesses said that the plane descended steeply and crashed nose-down.
The plane wound up in an remote field in the mountains of the Kalikot district, about a four-hour walk from the nearest town. Nepalese police and helicopters were called in from Kathmandu and other cities to rescue those stranded following the crash, according to The Independent.
Initial reports indicated that eight people had been onboard, but the tally increased later to 11 Friday morning.
Friday's plane crash marks the second crash to occur in Nepal within three days. The first one to occur this week took place on Wednesday when a Tara Air plane crashed northwest of Kathmandu in the midst of a 19-minute flight, killing all 23 people onboard, reported to CNN. The cause of the crash has been attributed to dense fog and poor weather conditions.
Nepal has a poor record on flight safety, so much so that in 2013, the EU imposed a ban that prevented all airlines based in Nepal from flying in the 28-member bloc.
