Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Tuesday, 29 Sep 1992 11:11:14 MST
From: <ASRPA@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nepal
Subject:    35 Britons died

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            35 BRITONS DIE IN HIMALAYAN AIRBUS CRASH
             _______________________________________

                         BY:  Press Association reporters Sally
                              Weale, Gavin Cordon, Michael Harvey

(Press Association Newsfile, September  28, 1992, Monday)

     Shenai Raif, Jackie Burdon, Heather Tyrrell and Rowan Dore,
and Reuter and  Associated Press correspondents Thirty-five Britons
were feared dead tonight  after a Pakistani A300 Airbus crashed on
its approach to Kathmandu airport,  killing all 167 people on
board.  Most of the British casualties were  back-packers, heading
for the Nepalese capital for the start of trekking holidays in the
Himalayas.  But also feared dead were missionaries Andrew and
Helen Wilkins, who were flying to  Nepal  with their three young
children after recently completing training at the All Nations
Christian College in Ware, Herts.  Mrs Wilkins was expecting the
couple's fourth child in March, said a  spokesman at the college
today.  Among the other British passengers was a couple heading off
on a "round the world dream ticket" holiday.  The Pakistan
International Airlines flight with 155 passengers and 12 crew on
board was enroute from Karachi when it plunged into hills
surrounding the airport in a rainstorm.  Poor weather and the
isolated site of the crash, 14 miles south of the airport, were
tonight hampering rescue teams trying to identify the dead.
Confirming that 35 Britons were on board the flight, a PIA
spokesman said 18  people from around the country had booked
through the airline's Bristol office.

     Three London-based agencies said they had provided tickets for
11 Britons. According to PIA in London, the British passengers
joined the flight after flying out from Heathrow to Karachi on
Sunday night.  There was no immediate  explanation for the crash,
but airline sources in Pakistan said the airbus may  have been
flying too low on its approach.  The sources, who did not wish to
be identified, said the pilot was flying at 7,500 ft when he should
have been at 9,000 ft.  Kathmandu airport, set in a saucer-shaped
valley ringed by high  hills, does not have radar. Aircraft are
guided in by a radio beam.  The crash, which took place mid-morning
British time, came at the start of  Nepal's tourist season.  A
large number of Europeans were on board, many of them members of
mountain climbing teams flying in to tackle the world's highest
peaks  and trekkers arriving for expeditions.  It was the second
air disaster in the  region in less than two months. On July 31, a
Thai Airways plane, also an  Airbus, crashed into an 11,500-foot
mountain north of the airport, killing all  113 people on board.
Mr Wilkins, 38, and his 36-year-old wife had recently  completed a
year's training, said a friend at All Nations college today.  They
were travelling with their children Hannah, 10, Naomi, eight, and
six-year-old  Simeon, after arranging their flight with Interserve,
a London-based missionary agency.  Other Britons on board included
two male guides working for west London travel firm Encounter
Overland.  Its marketing manager Melissa Colston said:  "Obviously
everyone here is very upset at the news of this tragic accident.
Our two colleagues were flying out on business." Three other
Britons - a couple on a  "round the world dream ticket" and a woman
going trekking - were also booked on the flight through north
London travel company Bridge the World.  All three left  Heathrow
on Sunday, bound for Karachi.  Six Britons were booked on the
flight  through Quest Worldwide Travel of Kingston, south west
London.  Managing  director Keith Beswick said the six, one couple
and four travelling separately, were from Berkshire, Birmingham,
Wales and Middlesex.

   n a statement issued in Karachi later tonight, PIA said the 167
people on  board were 148 passengers, 12 crew, four air guards and
three aircraft engineers - amending the earlier figure of 155
passengers.  Staff at the airline's  office in Hammersmith, west
London, were in tears tonight as they were besieged  with calls.
Arrangements were being made for a special flight to take family
and friends of the victims to Kathmandu on Wednesday.

     Investigators sifting  through the wreckage to find the cause
of the crash will concentrate on locating the doomed Airbus's
"black box" flight data recorder.  It records crucial  navigational
read-outs from the airplane's flight deck, including altitude and
speed.  Officials from the regional air accident investigation
branch and a  crisis team from Airbus Industrie, the European
consortium that built the plane, will be on site to analyse the
information.  Senior PIA staff and Pakistan  aviation authority
officials will also take part in the investigation.

     Rescue teams arriving at the scene of the crash, 14 miles
south of Kathmandu airport, said the plane was on fire.  An airman
lowered from a helicopter for a closer look found no evidence of
survivors, Associated Press reported.  The deputy chief at the
airport, Nagendra Prasad Ghimire, said there was no apparent
explanation for the crash which happened in scattered clouds and
moderate winds.

     "Everything was normal," he said, adding that the pilot had
given no indication of any problem.  It was the second air disaster
in the region in less than two months. On July 31, a Thai Airways
plane, also an Airbus, crashed into an  11,500-foot mountain north
of the airport, killing all 113 people on board.

     Kathmandu airport, set in a saucer-shaped valley ringed by
high hills, does not have radar. Aircraft are guided in by a radio
beam.  The crash occurred at the start of  Nepal's  tourist season,
with scores of mountain climbing teams flying  in to tackle the
world's highest peaks and trekkers arriving for expeditions.

     Among Britons on board the plane were two men working for
travel firm Encounter Overland.  Its marketing manager Melissa
Colston said: "Obviously  everyone here is very upset at the news
of this tragic accident.  "Our two  colleagues were flying out on
business. We are in contact with our office in  Kathmandu to try to
get any information as it comes out. We have also been in  contact
with the airline.  "We are still trying to establish exactly what
happened. It's very upsetting for all concerned - especially for
their  families." The Encounter Overland staff left Heathrow on
Sunday evening bound  for Karachi where they picked up the
connecting flight to Kathmandu.  The  company's managing director,
Tony Jones, was preparing to fly out to the  Nepal capital tonight
via Hong Kong.  "In Kathmandu, the tourist season starts at the end
of September or beginning of October," said Miss Colston. "It's a
very  popular time for people to go out there. It's a lovely time
to go trekking."

     Encounter Overland, based in Old Brompton Road, west London,
specialises in  adventure travel in Africa, Asia and South America.

     A Foreign Office spokesman later confirmed that at least five
Britons were on the flight.

     Three other Britons were also booked on the flight through
north London  travel company Bridge the World.  Managing director
Jerry Bridge said: "We think  we had three people on that flight
who booked through us - one couple and one  individual. It's a
great tragedy." The couple were on the first stage of a
"round-the-world dream ticket" while the third booking, a woman,
was going on a trekking holiday. All three left Heathrow on Sunday
bound for Karachi.  Mr Bridge, whose company is based in Camden,
said he understood 20 Britons were on board the crashed flight.
"It's a great shame for anything like this to happen.
The weather at this time of year is supposed to be at its most
perfect. That is   why so many people go to Kathmandu about now.
"It's just fortunate that it's  the beginning of the season and the
flight was not completely full. At the end  of October, flights are
more heavily booked," said Mr Bridge.

     Six Britons were booked on the flight through Quest Worldwide
Travel of  Kingston, south west London.  Managing director Keith
Beswick said the six, one   couple and four travelling separately,
were from Berkshire, Birmingham, Wales  and Middlesex.  "We do not
know definitely they were on the flight but it is  very unlikely
they were not.  "The six booked their flights through us and then
would have gone on trekking holidays independently.  "They all had
return  flights to come back in three or up to nine weeks," he
added. "We have not had  any official word but the situation looks
very bleak."

   A spokeswoman for PIA's Bristol office confirmed tonight that
none of the  people they had booked on the flight had West Country
addresses.  Speaking from   behind the closed door of the small
office, the unnamed woman - who was in tears  - told reporters: "We
are extremely grieved by this situation but we have not  yet got
the full details.  "It is very distressing and upsetting."

   The scene of the crash is now in darkness and rescue teams face
the daunting   task of searching through the night for bodies and
wreckage.  No one is thought   to have survived the crash, but
nothing can be ruled out until a thorough search  is made.  It will
not be until daylight that the gruesome task of sifting  through
passports and belongings to identify bodies will take place.
Foreign  embassies have been given copies of passenger lists but
will not be able to  confirm casualties until passports have been
located and matched up with bodies.  A spokesman for the British
Embassy in Kathmandu said: "Rescue teams will be  working through
the night. We will not know any more for some time."