Nepal plane crash: Estranged Thane couple’s bid to come together for trip with children ends in tragedy

PTI, May 30, 2022, 11:09 AM IST

Photo for representation

Thane: For Ashok Kumar Tripathi and his Thane-based estranged wife Vaibhavi, their reunion for a trip to Nepal with their children met a tragic end as their plane crashed in the neighbouring country.

Ashok Tripathi (54), who ran a company in Odisha, and Vaibhavi Bandekar Tripathi (51), who worked in a firm at BKC in neighbouring Mumbai, had separated following court orders, an official from Kapurbawdi police station in Thane said on Monday.

Vaibhavi, her son Dhanush (22) and daughter Ritika (15) lived in the Rustomjee Athena apartment in Balkum area of Thane city. Vaibhavi’s 80-year-old mother is the only person left at the family’s home here, the official said.

Since she is in frail health and currently on oxygen support, their relatives and neighbours have not told her anything about the plane tragedy.

The aged woman’s younger daughter is currently taking care of her, the police said.

Ashok Tripathi, Vaibhavi and their two children had on Sunday boarded the Tara Airlines plane, the wreckage of which was located in Nepal’s mountainous Mustang district on Monday.

The turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane had the four Indian nationals, two Germans and 13 Nepali passengers, besides a three-member Nepali crew.

It had gone missing on Sunday morning in the mountainous region of the Himalayan nation minutes after taking off from the tourist city of Pokhara, according to an airline spokesperson.