Anju Khatiwada, co-pilot of crashed Nepal plane, lost husband in similar accident in 2006

Anju Khatiwada took pilot training from the insurance money after husband Dipak Pokhrel's death.

Kathmandu, Jan 16: Anju Khatiwada, the co-pilot on a Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu that crashed in Nepal on Sunday, is feared dead as no survivors have been found so far among the 72 people on board.. 16 years ago, she had lost her husband in a similar plane accident, according to a report in Reuters.

The Yeti Airlines twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft was carrying 72 people - four crew members and 68 passengers - when it crashed near the airport of the tourist city of Pokhara on Sunday in clear weather conditions.

Four years after losing her husband Dipak Pokhrel, Anju had joined Nepal's Yeti Airlines in 2010. Her hubby was killed in a crash in 2006 earlier when a small passenger plane he was flying for the domestic carrier went down minutes before landing.

"Her husband, Dipak Pokhrel, died in 2006 in a crash of a Twin Otter plane of Yeti Airlines in Jumla," the news agency quoted airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula as saying, referring to Khatiwada. He has revealed that she underwent the pilot training with the insurance money that she received following her husband's death.

According to him, she had previously flown the popular tourist route Kathmandu Pokhara. She had over 6,400 hours of flying time.

Kathiwada's remains have not been identified but she is feared dead, Bartaula said.

"On Sunday, she was flying the plane with an instructor pilot, which is the standard procedure of the airline," an Yeti Airlines official, who knew Khatiwada personally, claimed. "She was always ready to take up any duty and had flown to Pokhara earlier," said the official, who asked not to be named because he isn't authorised to speak to media.

However, the news agency was not able to reach any of her family members.

Meanwhile, the black boxes of the Yeti Airlines aircraft have been recovered from the accident site on Monday, officials said. The plane with 72 people, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in the resort city of Pokhara, killing at least 68 people onboard.

With inputs from PTI

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