KATHMANDU: A private airlines, today, flew to Sudan to bring back the body of Nepal Army Lieutenant Colonel, Ridesh Bista, who passed away during his appointment there in a United Nations Peace Keeping Force Mission.

Shree Airlines' CRJ bombardier aircraft (9N-AMB) left today morning after being assigned to airlift the body of the deceased, amid government-imposed nationwide lockdown. The flight took off from Tribhuvan International Airport and will have a technical stop in Muscat, Oman.

According to Spokesperson of Nepal Army, Brigadier General Bigyan Dev Pandey, the Shree Airlines flight left for Sudan with the help of UN Headquarters in New York. He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took permission to fly through the airspace of India, Pakistan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.

The body of the deceased is likely to be brought back to Nepal by Sunday afternoon, following which a tribute ceremony in his honour will be carried out the same day.

Lieutenant Colonel Bista was stationed in Sudan nine months ago. He passed away after suffering a heart attack on March 30. It took nearly a fortnight to bring the Army officer's body back home due to lockdown imposed in multiple countries owing to the global coronavirus crisis.