AFP/Kathmandu

Kathmandu’s international airport was closed for a second straight day yesterday, leaving thousands stranded at the start of the tourist season, after a plane skidded off its only runway.
The Indian Air Force flew in experts and equipment to help Nepal remove the Turkish Airlines A330, which had to be evacuated after it skidded off the runway with 224 passengers on board early Wednesday.
All the passengers and crew were unhurt.
The head of the civil aviation authority, Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, said the Nepal army, police and the Indian experts would work tirelessly until the plane was moved.
International flights have been suspended until 10am (0415 GMT) today, affecting about 12,000 passengers so far.
“Once the airport reopens, it will stay open around the clock for three days in order to ease the backlog of flights,” Suman said at a press conference.
Scores of travellers swarmed Kathmandu airport yesterday for information, among them Lita dela Cruz, a tourist from the Philippines who said she was desperate to fly back to London where she works.
“It’s a huge problem for me, my employer is expecting me back tonight and I can’t see how I will reach (there) on time,” she told AFP.
Nepalese migrant worker, Rajman Lodh, said he worried about losing his job in Saudi Arabia if the airport failed to resume operations soon.
“I have already spent 100,000 rupees ($1,000) to get the job and organise my passport and travel, now if my flight is delayed for longer, I may not even be able to start work,” Lodh, 34, told AFP.
Nepalese officials said they would launch an investigation into the accident, which damaged the aircraft’s landing gear and front engines and dislodged its tyres.
The Himalayan nation is home to some of the world’s most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks and terrain that poses a challenge even for accomplished pilots.
A string of crashes as well as the European Union’s decision to blacklist all Nepalese airlines prompted government officials last year to announce plans to install new radar and weather monitoring systems.

Digging was under way around the front wheels that sank into the grassland when the Airbus 330 slid off the runway during a landing on Wednesday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal told reporters.
The team was surveying the scene to determine the next best step, it said.
The Indian Air Force team flew into Kathmandu yesterday upon request from Nepal, which does not have the necessary equipment.
The suspension on international flights was extended until today morning, the authority said.
The closure of Tribhuvan International Airport on Wednesday led to the suspension of 80 flights, stranding hundreds of passengers.
The Turkish Airlines plane with 238 people on board burst at least one tyre after landing early Wednesday, veering off the runway onto the grass. All passengers were removed to safety through emergency exits.
The plane, which was flying from Istanbul, was on its second landing attempt after the first failed due to poor visibility.



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