Thousands of passengers stranded at Nepal airport
Stranded passengers wait for an update on their flights at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, March 4, 2015. Photo: APNepal\’s only international airport remained closed for the fourth day Saturday, forcing the cancellation of all flights to and from foreign destinations and stranding thousands of passengers.
The only runway at Kathmandu\’s Tribhuwan International Airport has been partially blocked since a Turkish Airlines jet skidded off the wet surface Wednesday morning.
Airport officials said the facility will be closed until Saturday as workers attempt to move the jet.
The runway was slippery after two days of rain and there was dense fog when the Turkish Airlines plane skidded into the grass after landing. There was some damage to the front of the Airbus 330. The accident punctured all the tyres on the plane.
No-one was seriously injured, and all 238 people who were on board were safely evacuated.
Nepal asked India for help, and an Indian Air Force plane flew equipment and crew to Kathmandu on Thursday to move the plane.
The nearest international airports are in neighboring India, and traveling there by road takes days.
On Friday, hundreds of passengers waited at the airport expecting flights to resume.
Many of them left when it was announced the airport would remain closed until Saturday.
March is the beginning of tourism season in Nepal, with many travelling to visit the Himalaya mountains.
SOURCE: Agencies
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