A Nepali travel agent who survived a plane crash earlier this week said passengers should not drink alcohol during flights and refrain from sleeping during landing and takeoff.
Dayaram Tamrakar said Friday from his hospital bed that he was able to get up from his seat, break down the emergency door and help other passengers because he was alert.
Dayaram Tamrakar, a Nepali travel agent who survived a plane crash earlier this week speaks to the Associated Press as his wife Denjuna Tamrakar looks on at Grande Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, March 16, 2018. Tamrakar, who was among the 22 of the 71 people who survived Monday's Dhaka-Kathmandu plane crash says passengers should not drink during flights and refrain from sleeping during landing and takeoff. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
"I was able to grab on to my seat during the crash, quickly release seat belts, spring up from the seat and have the sense to force open the emergency door because I was alert," Tamrakar said adding he was able to help other passengers before he heard there was fire and decided to jump off the plane.
He thinks that it was the quick thinking of him and other fellow passengers to swiftly break down the emergency exit that helped save so many lives.
Twenty-two people survived the crash Monday that killed 49.
"When someone said there was fire it was time to get off the plane. I jumped and looked back and saw the tail part was already on fire," he said. "The army and emergency services were quick to respond; that probably also helped save so many people."
Kathmandu's international airport has an army camp to provide security and airport emergency services on standby.
Dayaram Tamrakar, a Nepali travel agent who survived a plane crash earlier this week looks on as he speaks to the Associated Press at Grande Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, March 16, 2018. Tamrakar, who was among the 22 of the 71 people who survived Monday's Dhaka-Kathmandu plane crash says passengers should not drink during flights and refrain from sleeping during landing and takeoff. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Tamrakar said just before the landing, he realized the plane was flying too low and just before the plane slammed on the ground, people were screaming.
"People were calling for help and praying. I could hear some people saying Allah, Allah," he said. "It was chaotic and confusing situation after the crash."
"I am just thankful that I am alive, although some of my friends did not make it alive," he said. He was traveling in a group of 14 travel operators in Nepal whom the airline had flown to Bangladesh for an award function.
Most of the survivors are still hospitalized. Authorities have said the survivors and the dead suffered severe burns that have made identifications difficult.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s military chief Gen. Francis Ogolla died in a helicopter crash west of the country, President William Ruto announced Thursday and declared three days of national mourning.
The helicopter was carrying 11 people, including Gen. Ogolla, when it crashed Thursday and caught fire in a remote area near the border with Uganda, killing nine people onboard, the president said.
It is unclear what caused the crash.
Gen. Ogolla, 61, was on a tour of the country’s troubled western region that has seen frequent attacks by local bandits.
He was appointed Kenya’s Chief of Defense Forces in April last year after Gen. Robert Kibochi retired.
Political controversy surrounded Ogolla even before his appointment, when he was accused by the country's electoral commission chairperson as being part of a national security council delegation that tried to influence the outcome of the 2022 general election against President Ruto.
Ruto later explained that he called Gen. Ogolla before his appointment and said that, despite the election controversy, he was the most qualified for the job.
Gen Ogolla joined Kenya's military force 40 years ago.
He was a graduate of École Militaire de Paris, the National Defence College of Kenya, Egerton University and the University of Nairobi.
Gen. Ogolla is survived by his wife Aileen, two children and a grandson.
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FILE - Kenya's military personnel practice maneuvers as part of Britain's King Charles III's visit to the Mtongwe Naval Base in Mombasa, Kenya, Nov. 2, 2023. Ogolla died in a helicopter crash west of the country, President William Ruto announced Thursday, April 18, 2024, evening and declared three days of national mourning. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
FILE - Kenya's military chief General Francis Ogolla, right, shakes hand with Britain's King Charles III, left, and Kenya's President William Ruto, center, as they attend a military welcome ceremony during Charles' visit at the Mtongwe Naval Base in Mombasa, Kenya, Nov. 2, 2023. Ogolla died in a helicopter crash west of the country, President William Ruto announced Thursday, April 18, 2024, evening and declared three days of national mourning. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
FILE - Kenya Air Force Brigadier Francis Ogolla speaks to journalists in Nyanyuki airstrip, Kenya, Aug. 15, 2012. Ogolla died in a helicopter crash west of the country, President William Ruto announced Thursday, April 18, 2024, evening and declared three days of national mourning. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi, File)
FILE - Kenya's military chief General Francis Ogolla, right, and Kenya's President William Ruto, left, at State House in Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 14, 2023. Ogolla died in a helicopter crash west of the country, President William Ruto announced Thursday, April 18, 2024, evening and declared three days of national mourning. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
FILE - Kenya's military chief General Francis Ogolla is dressed in full uniform at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 14, 2023. Ogolla died in a helicopter crash west of the country, President William Ruto announced Thursday, April 18, 2024, evening and declared three days of national mourning. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
