INDIAN UN OFFICIAL WAS PREPARING TO LEAVE NEPAL WHEN BUDDHA AIR CRASHED

INDIAN UN OFFICIAL WAS PREPARING TO LEAVE NEPAL WHEN BUDDHA AIR CRASHED



Kathmandu, 26 Sept.: As it was their last week in Nepal, Dr Pankaj Mehta, an official at UNICEF country office, and his wife Dr Chaya Mehta wanted to make the best use of their remaining time in Kathmandu and had embarked on the ill-fated mountain flight of Buddha Air on Sunday, Kiran Chapagain writes in Repblica.

“He was supposed to leave Nepal next week for the Philippines to head the Health Department of UNICEF,” said an official at UNICEF who is known to Mehta, a health advisor at the UN´s children´s agency. He was initially posted at the UNICEF Regional Office before he was posted at the country office.

“They had planed to visit Lumbini next week before they left Nepal,” the official further said.

The Mehatas are survived by two sons, one studying in the final year of medicine at BP Koirala Institute of Health and Sciences, Dharan.

“He was a through gentleman,” the official remembered Mehta, whose wife was an ophthalmologist

As he was leaving next week, UNICEF had planned a farewell for Mehta on Friday. The Ministry of Health and Population had already organized a farewell function for Mehta.

Meanwhile, the eight Indian nationals -- M Maruthachalam, M Manimaran, AK Krisunan, VM Kankasabesan, T Dhansekaran, Kattoor Mahalingam, Meenakshi Sundaram and K Thyagarajan -- had come to Nepal in a group for a three-day holiday.

According to Phurba Sherpa, sales manager at Hotel Grand where the victims were staying, the Indian nationals had come to Nepal on Saturday and had booked the hotel for three nights. They were to return India on Tuesday.

“They were the members of the Tiruchirappalli Centre Builders´ Association of India,” said Phurba, adding, “Some of them were in their fifties and others in their sixties.”

The hotel handed over their luggage to the Indian embassy in presence of the Kalimati Police.

The Indian Embassy, in a statement, has expressed its grief over the death of Indian nationals. Embassy Spokesperson Apoorva Srivastava said the embassy will provide all assistance for the prompt evacuation of the remains of the Indian nationals killed in the accident.

Likewise, Uejima Toshinori, who was also killed in the accident, was a Japanese national. US national Natalie Neinan had come to Nepal with Niranjan Karmacharya, Sarada Karmacharya and Jagajan Karmacharya and died along with the Karmacharyas. She was from Los Angeles, according to the travel agency where she had booked the tickets.

Jagajan is also an American national. Andrew Wade was another American killed in the incident.

US Embassy Spokesperson Heather Steil told Republica that the embassy is in touch with the Nepali authorities to confirm the identity of the Americans. “The consular officials will reach out to their families and offer whatever service we can provide,” she said.
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SHOCKOVER BUDDHA AIR CRASH

Kathmandu, 26 Sept.: It was only last March when Asmita Shrestha, 19, began her career as an airhostess with the Buddha Air. A resident of Kupondole, Lalitpur, she completed grade 12 in management from Triton College at New Baneshwar and joined the airline immediately to lead a “self-dependent” life. “I am happy to become self-dependent and assist my family financially,” her colleague Jyoti remembered Asmita as saying, Republica reports.

But barely six months after she took up the job of an airhostess, Asmita´s life met a tragic end on Sunday as she was one of the crew member of the ill-fated aircraft that crashed into hilltop in Lalitpur, killing all the people on board.


“We are all shocked at the loss of our sweet, smart and outgoing colleague,” Babita Manadhar, a senior airhostess with the airline, says.

Captain Janabuddha Tamrakar, son of former Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ram Krishna Tamrakar, also died in the crash. Tamrakar, from Kuleshwor, had left home on Sunday telling his parents that he would watch some movies on politics in the evening. “I told him to come home first and then decide what to do,” said a heart-broken father. But Janabuddha did not return.

Captain Tamrakar, a 31-year-old bachelor, was known for his amicable personality. “He was very friendly and nice person,” said Captain Ranjan Subedi at the airline. He had joined Buddha Air as a co-pilot in 2006 and was promoted as captain in 2009.

Another deceased, Padma Adhikari, 27, had joined Buddha Air in 2006 as a co-pilot and was promoted to the post of captain last February. She was inspired to become a pilot by her brother Pradip Adhikari, a former Nepal Airlines pilot. Padma from Gaurighat, Kathmandu, was popular among her colleagues. “I don´t know about her personal life as she was junior to me. But professionally, I found her very pleasant and nice,” said Yashodhara Thapa, herself a captain with Buddha Air.
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