Nepal Airlines jet makes emergency landing

Kathmandu - The smoke alarm went off at the cockpit, local media reports said.

A Nepal Airlines jet carrying 163 people from New Delhi on Monday made an emergency landing at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu after the aircraft emitted smoke at 12,500 feet.
The crew detected smoke in the Airbus A320-220 named Lumbini as it entered Nepal's airspace this afternoon, officials said.
The pilots sought permission with the airport's air traffic control tower for an emergency landing of the flight 9N-AKX after the smoke was detected while they were flying at 12,500 feet.
The smoke alarm went off at the cockpit, local media reports said.
"Following the detection, the captain asked permission for an emergency landing with the control tower," Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) spokesperson Premnath Thakur said. "Then, we closed the airport as a precaution. All the passengers and crew members are safe."
According to officials at the airport, there were 163 people on board the aircraft including nine crew members and have been safely evacuated.
Several aircraft flying in and out of the airport were put on a hold and the runway was cleared for allowing the plane to land.
The aircraft has been placed at the airport's parking way after there was no threat of blaze and is under the inspection of Nepal Airlines Corporation's technical team.
According to Thakur, the country's only international airport resumed operations within half an hour.