KATHMANDU: "The condition of the plane was not good. But, do not panic. We will land the plane safely. We will save you all passengers even at the cost of our lives."

These were the words the deceased pilot Dinesh Neupane said minutes before an Air Kasthamandap plane fatally force-landed Chilkhaya VDC-2 in Kalikot district this noon.

The pilot Neupane and co-pilot Santosh Rana had died in the tragic accident today.

According to one of the injured passengers, before the crash, the pilot had asked the passengers to stay on their toes constantly, saying that the plane was not in any good condition.

The injured added that the plane crashed right after some minutes of the warning.

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"A loud bang was heard all of a sudden. When I looked around to figure out, I saw the plane crashing in a wheat field right in front of me," said Nanda Katuwal, who witnessed the plane crash-landing in Chilkhaya VDC-2 in Kalikot district today noon, over the phone.

Soon after the front part of the plane of Air Kasthamandap touched the field, passengers hurried towards the exit, screaming and started coming out, Katuwal said.

The plane crash-landed in the wheat field, around 200 metres away the village.

However, the pilot and the co-pilot were killed in the accident.

The pilot was found dead inside the cockpit, while the co-pilot breathed his last two and a half hours later, said assistant health worker from Chilkhaya health post Junga Bahadur Rawal, who reached the incident site to rescue and provide treatment to the injured.

"The co-pilot screamed due to pain for about an hour. But, we could not save him despite giving our best in the treatment," he said, adding that he might have been saved had he been rescued on time.

Four health workers including Rawal from the health post rushed to the crash site to rescue the injured and provide treatment to them immediately after the crash. The crash site is half an hour's walk from the health post.