A Dornier aircraft that flew from the resort town of Pokhara crashed in northern Nepal after hitting a hilltop while attempting to land at high-altitude Jomsom airport on Monday. Thirteen Indians were among 15 people killed and two young South Indian girls survived. The girls aged 6 and 9 were among three Indian survivors of the crash in which the Dronier aircraft got buried after hitting a mountain peak straddling the airport.

There were 21 people in the 20-seater plane with 16 Indians, two Danish nationals and 3 crew members Six people on board, including three Indians, an air hostess and two Danish nationals have been rescued from the crash site. They include Tirumala Kidambi Sreekanth, Tirumala Kidambi Sreevardhini (9) and Tirumala Kidambi Sreepada (6), who are being treated at Manipal Hospital, Pokhara. "The girls are conscious and out of danger," Indian embassy spokesperson said. "Come here and take us from here," the two girls have pleaded to their uncle, K Srinivasan, in Chennai. They do not know that their mother S Latha has died in the same accident and their father T K Srikanth, is lying unconscious in Manipal Hospital.

While these two lucky girls survived, it is very sad to note that Child artiste Taruni Sachdev, who played the role of Amitabh Bachchan or Auro's friend in National Award winning film Paa, died in the crash. Taruni, who became famous as the Rasna girl, was on the flight with her mother Geetha Sachdev. Besides Paa, Taruni also appeared in two Malayam films, Vellinakshatram (2004) and Sathyam (2004) with Prithviraj and Priyamani. She also appeared on Shah Rukh Khan's reality quiz show Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?