Civil aviation minister off to Nepal

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal today left for Nepal to monitor personally the latest situation of the yesterday's deadly crash of the US-Bangla Airlines plane at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu that left nearly 50 people dead.

The minister accompanying with member operation and flight safety director of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by a Biman Bangladesh Airlines regular flight at 11:15 am, a spokesperson of the ministry told BSS.

Meanwhile, a US-Bangla flight left Dhaka this morning for Nepal with 46 relatives of the crash victims. "A seven-member team of our airlines led by CEO Imran Asif along with the victims' relatives on board the special flight reached Kathmandu around 11:10am," US-Bangla General Manager Kamrul Islam said.

He also confirmed that the pilot of the crashed US-Bangla Airlines flight Abid Sultan who sustained injuries in the plane crash, died at a local hospital in Kathmundu today.

At least 45 people were confirmed killed as an aircraft of Bangladesh's private US Bangla Airlines crashed and burst into flames while landing at Kathmandu with 71 people onboard, 67 being passengers- 32 from Bangladesh, 33 from Nepal and one each from China and the Maldives-on Monday.

International wire services Reuters and AFP, however, quoted the casualty figures as 50 and 49 respectively and said several people were rescued from the burning wreckage of the Bombardier Dash Q400 series aircraft.