Everest trip turns fatal for Kolkata couple

Kolkata: Pankaj Mehta did not want to leave Kathmandu without the spectacular view of Mt Everest the Buddha Air special trip offered. It turned out to be his last flight.
Mehta and his wife Chhaya, from Kolkata's Southern Avenue, died in the Beechcraft crash in Nepal's Kot Danda that killed 19 persons on Sunday. Pankaj, who worked with Unicef, was posted in Kathmandu for the last five years. Earlier, he was with Unicef's Kolkata office. He was supposed to take charge of Unicef's Manila office in Philippines on October 3. But before leaving Kathmandu, he did not want lose an opportunity to see the highest mountain peak in the world up close.
Pankaj was extremely excited about the 'Everest Experience' package offered by Buddha Air, said his family. The aircraft picks up tourists from Kathmandu, flies them around the peak and drops them back in Kathmandu. Sunday's ill-fated aircraft was flying back to Kathmandu when it crashed.
Pankaj's eldest son, a doctor based in Kathmandu, broke the news to his uncles Harshvardhan and Hemant around 9.30 am. The couple's younger son, an environmental engineer, is based in New York.
26/09/11 Times of India

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Categories: Foreign Sep 2011, Safety Sep 2011