Narrow escape for settlements near aircraft crash site in Pokhara: Eyewitnesses
Kathmandu (PTI): Eyewitnesses of the Nepalese passenger plane crash have said that they had a close shave as the Yeti Airlines plane, with 72 onboard, including five Indians, crashed near their settlement and a bomb-like blast was heard.
At least 68 people were killed as the plane crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in the resort city of Pokhara on Sunday in the Himalayan nation's deadliest aviation accident in over 30 years.
Kalpana Sunar was washing clothes in the front yard of her house when she saw an aircraft falling from the sky and coming in her direction, The Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted her as saying on Monday.
"The aircraft was tilted at an unusual angle and moments later, I heard a bomb-like explosion," she was quoted as saying.
"Then I saw a plume of black smoke billowing from the Seti gorge," she added.
One of the plane's wings hit the ground about 12 metres from the house of local resident Geeta Sunar.
Sunar, who had a miraculous escape said, "Had the aircraft fallen just a bit closer to our home, the settlements would have been destroyed," the newspaper reported.
"There was so much damage at the incident site, but since it happened away from the settlement, there were no casualties or any damage to the settlements," she said, adding that there was a fire on both sides of the Seti gorge and the bodies were scattered everywhere.
Children who witnessed the incident said that they could hear passengers screaming from inside the aircraft as it plummeted from the sky spiralling.
Two 11-year-olds, Samir and Prajwal Pariyar initially thought that the aircraft was a toy, but when it came close, they ran away.
"Suddenly, there was darkness all around due to the smoke," said Samir, adding, "It looked like the aircraft's tyre would touch us as it fell."
Another eyewitness, Bainsha Bahadur BK, said that if the aircraft had come straight, it would have crash landed into the settlements and caused more damage.
"Around seven or eight windows of the aircraft were still intact and we thought that the passengers might still be alive," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
"But the fire spread across the other half of the plane in an instant, as we watched in horror," he added.
Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport, minutes before landing, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraft.
Fifteen foreign nationals onboard the plane included five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans, an Australian, a French, an Argentine, and an Israeli.
Nepalese rescuers resumed their search on Monday for four persons still missing after rescue efforts were suspended on Sunday evening
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' held an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers following the crash.
On Sunday, the Nepal government formed a five-member inquiry commission to probe the plane crash.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: Over 61 pc voting till 1 pm amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Over 61 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors exercised their franchise till 1 pm of the second and final phase of polling in West Bengal amid attacks on a few candidates, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BJP's Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 1 pm, West Bengal recorded 61.11 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 66.8 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 64.57 per cent and Nadia at 61.41 per cent.
Howrah registered 60.68 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas recorded 60.18 per cent.
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Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 60.18 per cent and 57.73 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, registered 58.58 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 62.18 per cent polling till 1 pm.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari in the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there, amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari said, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"The BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there 'goonda raj' (hooliganism) here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Later in the day, tension flared up in the Kalighat area when Adhikari visited a polling booth and was greeted with slogans by TMC workers, prompting police intervention and a complaint by the opposition leader to the EC seeking deployment of additional central forces.
Security forces had to resort to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. Adhikari chased the sloganeering crowds, whom he alleged were "outsiders trying to influence the polls".
As soon as he reached the area, TMC workers and supporters raised slogans of 'Jai Bangla' and 'chor, chor' against him, while BJP activists responded with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram'.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
The ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths in South 24 Pargana's Bhangar.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
