International News

KATHMANDU, (millat+APP/AFP) – The wreckage of
an ultralight aircraft that disappeared in Nepal last year with two people on board has been found, an aviation official said Monday.
The aircraft went missing shortly after taking off from the popular
mountain resort town of Pokhara on October 8 with a Russian pilot and a South
African tourist on board.
Search teams were dispatched to the area after debris was spotted from the
air, Pokhara’s airport chief Bhola Prasad Guragain told AFP.
“The team recovered wreckage of the ultralight craft and bones from the
site,”
“The marks on the wreckage confirm it is the missing craft but we have
handed the remains to authorities for tests.”
Ultralight flights are popular among tourists in Pokhara for panoramic
views of the majestic snow-capped Annapurna mountains.
In 2013, a Chinese tourist and a Nepali pilot were killed when their
ultralight crashed in the same area.
Nepal, which is still reeling from a devastating earthquake last April, has
suffered a number of air disasters in recent years.
Most have been attributed to inexperienced pilots, poor management and
inadequate maintenance.
The European Union blacklisted all Nepal’s airlines in 2013.