Nepal co-pilot's husband died in plane crash 16 years earlier on same airline

17 January 2023 , 08:19

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Nepal co-pilot's husband died in plane crash 16 years earlier on same airline

The co-pilot of the flight that crashed in Nepal on Sunday was the widow of a pilot who also died in a plane crash 16 years earlier with the same airline.

Anju Khatiwada, 44, from Kathmandu was the co-pilot of the flight which tragically crashed into a gorge and killed around 70 people on the weekend.

While her remains have not been identified, officials fear she is likely dead, as no survivors have been found so far among the 72 people on board.

It has now been reported in a tragic twist, that Ms Khatiwada took up the career following the death of her husband Dipak Pokhrel, who died on a Yeti Airlines flight in 2006.

Anju Khatiwada is feared dead in the crash (Family Handout)

The captain's body, Kamal KC, has been recovered and identified.

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The widow undertook her pilot training with the insurance money she got following Mr Pokhrel's death, airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula said.

It is still not clear what caused the tragic crash of the ATR-72 aircraft, which crashed in a gorge near Pokhara airport and caught fire.

Rescuers scour the crash site in the wreckage of a passenger plane in Pokhara, Nepal (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

On Monday, searchers found the cockpit voice recorder and black box ,which records the flight data, both in good condition. This latest discovery will hopefully determine the cause of the crash.

Victims of the crash include British man Ruan Calum Crighton, children and other victims from Nepal, India, Russia, South Korea, Argentina, Australia and France.

Nepal began a national day of mourning Monday (Yunish Gurung/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

It is understood Mr Crighton had only celebrated his 34th birthday, on January 14, the day before the crash.

Mr Crighton was a professional ballet dancer who spent several years at the Central School of Ballet in London in 2005, before moving to Slovakia to become a dancer with the Slovak National Theatre in Slovakia until 2013.

"Ruan was one of my best friends. We dance together on stage for years… I'm devastated. It is very hard to say something about [him] right now. But first he was a sunshine", his friend told the Daily Mail.

Rescuers stand by wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed in Pokhara, Nepal (Anish Bhattarai/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

According to his LinkedIn profile, most recently Mr Crighton had been studying physiotherapy in Amsterdam and studied at London’s Central School of Ballet.

He told the BBC in 2014, he fell in love with ballet after being made to take classes while learning gymnastics.

A spokeswoman for the Central School of Ballet said they had been advised not to comment by Ruan’s family.

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The FCDO said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Nepal and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Rachel Hagan