Nepal plane crash: Search continues for last missing person
Kathmandu (PTI): The search for the last missing person in the Nepal plane crash resumed on Wednesday after rescuers on Tuesday pulled out one more body from the crash site where a Yeti Airlines aircraft carrying 72 people, including five Indians, had plunged in a river gorge in the resort city of Pokhara.
Two days after the fatal crash, a woman's body was found deep down in the Seti River gorge on Tuesday. With this, the bodies of 71 people who died in the crash have been retrieved.
The search for the missing person started early morning on Wednesday with the help of divers and four drones, rescuers have given up hope of finding the missing person alive, MyRepublica newspaper reported.
The Yeti Airlines aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am on Sunday and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport in Pokhara, minutes before landing.
Fifty-three Nepalese passengers and 15 foreign nationals, including 5 Indians, and four crew members were on board the Yeti Airlines aircraft when it crashed.
The five Indians, all from Uttar Pradesh, have been identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, 25, Bishal Sharma, 22, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, 27, Sonu Jaiswal, 35, and Sanjaya Jaiswal.
As many as 48 bodies of the deceased have been brought to Kathmandu, the report added.
The dead bodies except that of the locals and those who could not be identified and those of foreigners were flown to Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon.
The bodies of the 48 victims have been brought to Kathmandu via Nepal Army helicopters for post-mortem at Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.
Superintendent of Police Dinesh Mainali of Kathmandu Police Range said the bodies will be handed over to the respective families only after the completion of an autopsy.
"Forensics experts are currently working to complete the autopsy of the deceased. After we get the autopsy report, we will hand over the mortal remains of the deceased to the respective family members," he said.
Meanwhile, a team of experts from France arrived in Nepal on Tuesday to study the ATR plane crash of Yeti Airlines that took place in Pokhara on January 15.
A nine-member expert team from the company that manufactures the ATR aircraft has reached Pokhara.
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Waqf Bill anti-secular, will snatch rights of Muslims: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday described the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as “anti-secular”, claiming that it would snatch the rights of Muslims.
Banerjee, speaking in the assembly, also said the Centre did not consult with states over the matter.
“The bill is anti-federal and anti-secular; it is a deliberate attempt to malign a particular section. It will snatch the rights of Muslims... The Centre did not consult with us on the Waqf Bill,” she said.
The chief minister added that “if any religion was attacked”, she would wholeheartedly condemn it.
Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging that they violate the religious rights of Muslims.
The ruling BJP has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency in the functioning of the Waqf boards and make them accountable.
A parliamentary committee has been constituted to scrutinise the contentious bill.
