Three more Nepal plane crash survivors return home

Three more Bangladeshis who survived the US-Bangla plane crash in Nepal returned home on Friday as the CID of police was getting ready to start collecting DNA samples on Sunday from relatives back home of the 26 people who died in the aviation tragedy on Monday, report agencies.

The Biman Bangladesh flight carrying survivors, Mehedi Hasan, his wife Sayeeda Kamrunnahar Swarna and sister-in-law Almun Nahar Annie, landed in Dhaka on Friday afternoon.

Petrified to take a flight again, the three wanted to travel by road but doctors prohibited them, citing their health conditions.

The three, who were being treated at the Kathmandu Medical College Hospital, were taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital from the airport.

A businessman from Gazipur, Mehedi was travelling to Nepal with his wife, cousin Faruq Hossain Priyok and his family.

Priyok, a photographer, and his daughter Priyonmoyi Tamara died in Bangladesh's worst aviation disaster.

The plane crashed at Kathmandu's Tribhuban International Airport and caught fire with 71 people on board.

The death toll stood at 49, including 26 Bangladeshis. There were four crew members among the Bangladeshi deceased.

Another victim Shahreen Ahmed was brought to Dhaka on Thursday and admitted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The school teacher was better than before, according to the DMCH burn unit.

Another survivor Rizwanul Hoque was taken to Singapore from Kathmandu's OM Hospital on Wednesday.

A total of 10 Bangladeshis survived the crash.

Among them, Eakub Ali has been discharged by Norvic Hospital in Nepal. His brother Dipu Bepari wants to take him to Delhi, according to the Bangladesh embassy in Nepal.

Imrana Kabir Hashi, a teacher at Rajshahi University of Science and Technology, was still in hospital care in Kathmandu.

Among the remaining three, Sheikh Rashed Rubaiyat and Kabir Hossain are under intensive care and Md Shahin Bepari is admitted to the burn unit of the hospital.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police will start gathering DNA samples on Sunday from blood relatives of the 26 Bangladeshis who died in the plane crash in Nepal.

The samples, blood or saliva, will be collected at their Forensic DNA Laboratory in Dhaka's Malibagh area, the lab's deputy chief Ahmed Ferdous said on Thursday.

He said the relatives of the victims of the crash were asked to come to the lab.

Bangladesh Ambassador Mashfee Binte Shams said on Wednesday it would take four days for the forensic doctors in Nepal to finish the post-mortem examinations as the members of the families of the deceased were waiting in Bangladesh for the bodies.

"Then they will confirm the identities by matching information provided by the victims' relatives. It may take one or two more days to take back the bodies," she said.

The confirmation of identity, which will require matching DNA samples, will take three weeks, according to Shams.

Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Nojibur Rahman said a police team would fly out to collect DNA samples from the dead.

Mamunur Rashid, an official at the lab, said on Thursday two CID officials were already in Kathmandu along with seven burns, orthopaedic and forensic specialists.

The medical team will also collect DNA samples from the bodies for profiling, he added.

Special prayers were offered at mosques and other places of worship across Bangladesh on Friday seeking eternal peace of the departed souls.

Devotees also prayed for early recovery of the injured people. The Islamic Foundation arranged its doa mahfil at the Baitul Mukarram Mosque after Jumma prayers. This followed the observance of Mourning Day the previous day.

Health Minister Mohammed Nasim visited survivor Shahreen Ahmed at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital or DMCH.

"We are ready here to treat the victims. Our cabins are ready," he said citing an order of the prime minister.

The minister requested everyone not to crowd the hospital to help Shahreen recover quickly.

A medical board has been formed to decide on Shahreen's treatment, DMCH burn unit Coordinator Samanta Lal Sen said. "Our team is working in Kathmandu. We are constantly communicating with them."

Two of the eight victims who are under treatment in Nepal are in critical condition, said Prof AHM Enayet Hussain, acting director general at the Directorate General of Health Services.

Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Post reports families of the victims of US-Bangla plane crash may miss out on a fair compensation of about Tk 12 million due to delays by Nepal and Bangladesh governments in signing the Montreal Convention. According to Article 21 of the 1999 convention, in case of death of passengers, the airline is liable to pay up to 100,000 Special Drawing Rights, equivalent to $145,462, for each passenger.

This amounts to approximately Tk 12 million at the current exchange rate.