Photo taken on March 12, 2018 shows the crash-landing site in Kathmandu, Nepal. A passenger plane of the US-Bangla Airlines crashed at Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Monday, with dozens feared dead and at least 17 people injured. (Xinhua) KATHMANDU - At least 49 people were killed and 17 injured after a passenger plane of the US-Bangla Airlines crashed at Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Monday afternoon, authorities confirmed. Bishwo Raj Pokharel, a senior police official involved in the rescue operation at the TIA, told Xinhua on the spot 49 people were killed and 17 others injured in the incident. Now we are carrying out rescue operations. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the US-Bangla Airlines has said that the passengers onboard included 32 people from Bangladesh, 33 from Nepal, one from China and one from the Maldives. The Bombardier Dash Q-400 aircraft, with 71 people onboard, crashed while landing. Nationalities of the four crewmembers were not immediately known. Those injured in the incident have been sent to hospitals for treatment. The UBG211 flight was en route to Kathmandu from Dhaka, Bangladesh. The ill-fated plane was said to have circled the airport twice before trying landing. Dozens of firefighters and rescuers rushed to the crash site, and the flames were put out in a relatively short time. The TIA was temporarily closed for incoming and outgoing international flights following the accident, while latest reports said operations were being recovered. Further details of the incident are yet to be ascertained. Nepali Prime Minister K.P Sharma Oli, Defense Minister Ishwar Pokharel, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and senior officials reached the airport following the crash. The prime minister told reporters that the government would launch a probe into the crash. The US-Bangla Airlines is a privately-owned Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Dhaka. This is the deadliest air crash at the TIA airport after a Turkish Airlines flight crash-landed at the airport in March 2015. wristbands canadacustom silicone bracelets canadarubber bracelets canadasilicone bracelets canadasilicone wristbands canadacustom wristbands canadacanadian wristbandswristbands canada
Beijing dismissed a former Maldivian president's remarks on China-Maldives cooperation as one-sided and disparaging on Tuesday.Mohamed Nasheed, who served as president from 2008 to 2012, has accused China of taking control of 17 islands in the Maldives, Times of India reported on Saturday.He said he will seek an international convention against what he called a land grab and will force China to sign it if he is returned to power.Nasheed's remarks, which echoed those he made last week, are pure fabrication and ridiculous, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday.I need to remind Mr Nasheed that it is ultimately up to people in the two countries to judge and say whether China-Maldives cooperation is in line with both sides' interests and whether it has benefited them and their people, he said.Geng added that the cooperation will not be denigrated by some individuals' one-sided remarks.In an article penned by Nasheed and published in The Indian Express on Feb 7, the former president said he fears the Maldives is being sold off to China.At a briefing the following day, Geng dismissed the claim as absolute nonsense. Cooperation between China and the Maldives is being carried out in the spirit of mutual respect and equality, and has played a positive role in helping the Maldives upgrade its economy and improve people's lives, he said.When Mr Nasheed was president, China also offered assistance to and conducted practical cooperation with his country, which led to enormous outcomes. Would Mr Nasheed call that a 'grab' as well? the spokesman said.China's assistance comes with no political strings and in no way impairs the sovereignty or independence of the Maldives, not to mention security in the Indian Ocean, Geng said on Thursday.The Maldives, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, descended into crisis on Feb 1 when its Supreme Court ordered the release of several jailed politicians and quashed a conviction against Nasheed, who lives in self-imposed exile. That decision was overturned on Feb 6.China has been following the situation closely and said it believes the dispute is the Maldives' internal affairs and should be solved through dialogue between the parties involved.
