BIRATNAGAR, Jan 16: Deepak Pokharel, the first husband of Captain Anju Khatiwada, who perished in the plane crash of Yeti Airlines in Pokhara on Sunday, died 16 years ago in a plane crash, the relatives said.
Relatives of Khatiwada said that her ex-husband Pokharel who was himself a pilot died in the plane crash of Yeti Airlines in Jumla on June 21, 2006. Ward Chairman of Biratnagar-5, Santosh Neupane said that Khatiwada, who was a widow of late Pokharel, started working in Yeti Airlines after her husband's death.
'I can't be home this Dashain'
According to Neupane, Anju has a 22-year-old daughter from her first marriage. Ward chairman Neupane informed Republica that he has a 7-year-old son after her second marriage.
Anju who hailed from Biratnagar received her education up to the secondary level from Biratnagar. Anju's relative Shekhar Regmi said that she received her higher secondary education in India.
Regmi said Anju's current home is in Maiti Devi, Kathmandu. In 2010, Anju started flying in Nepal after returning from the USA after a pilot training.
There were 68 passengers on the ATR-72 aircraft that crashed in Pokhara on Sunday morning. Pilot Kamal KC was flying the aircraft along with Anju Khatiwada, flight attendants Srijan Hongchun and Osin Ale Magar.
