Assistant Health Worker by profession, Nepali shared his experience of the tragic moment with his sister Riuti Bitalu for almost 15 minutes there.
A single-engine Cessna Caravan of Makalu Air suffered a minor crash at the airport on Monday evening, injuring 12 people on board including a co-pilot, an airhostess and the captain, Pradip Jung Shah. The plane, which was chartered from Nepalgunj to Mugu, skidded off the run-way and hit a rock 200 metres ahead at around 4 pm.
“I had a strong fate,” said Nepali, who sustained burn injuries in the cheeks. His hair and clothes were burnt in the incident.
He said that a blast-like sound came from the plane when it crash-landed on the runway. It then caught a fire. “All the passengers on board panicked, cried and wept helplessly. Police did not let others help them. Nor did they come forward to help those who beseeched for help,” he said.
Nepali said he got off the plane by breaking its window panes and rescued other passengers thereafter. He said that villagers later joined him in rescuing the passengers. Airport officials said they had extinguished the fire by pouring water. Janak Buda and his wife Sakuntala, who are among the injured passengers, narrated the tragic incident. They have sustained minor injuries in the head, forehead and legs.
