UPDATE: 68 bodies found from air crash in Nepal
Officials say that a plane with 72 people on board has crashed near an airport in central Nepal, and at least 68 bodies have been recovered from the crash site near Pokhara International Airport in the country’s west.
The Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokhara crashed on landing, catching fire. Videos on social media show an aircraft flying low over a populated area before spinning sharply.
There were 68 passengers on board, including at least 15 foreign nationals and four crew members with three infants. Hundreds of Nepalese soldiers are involved in the operation at the crash site in the gorge of the Seti River, just one and a half kilometres from the airport.
Video taken where the plane came down shows thick billowing black smoke and burning debris. “We expect to recover more bodies as the plane has broken into pieces,” said an army spokesman “has broken into pieces.
#NepalPlaneCrash 68 passengers confirmed dead in the tragic air crash. The plane was carrying 72 people. Their dear ones might have been waiting for them to come back safely 😢#planecrash #Rip#Nepal #แอนนาเสือ pic.twitter.com/3JciQfheNg
— CAPF Seema Bhawani 🇮🇳 (@seema_bhawani) January 15, 2023
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called an emergency cabinet meeting and urged state agencies to work on rescue operations. Of the passengers, 53 are said to be Nepalese. There were five Indian, four Russians, and two Koreans on the plane. There was also one passenger each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina, and France, among others.
Aviation accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, often due to its remote runways and sudden weather changes that can make for hazardous conditions.
In early 2018, 51 people were killed when a US-Bangla flight from Dhaka to Bangladesh caught fire as it landed in Kathmandu.
Reuters/SkyNews/S.O
