Foreign nationals from Australia, France, Ireland and India among the passengers onboard
At least 68 people were killed when an aircraft went down near the tourist city of Pokhara in central Nepal. This was described as Nepal’s worst airplane crash in 30 years.
The twin-engine ATR-72 turboprop, which took off from Kathmandu at 10:32 a.m. local time, crashed close to its destination of Pokhara airport at around 11 a.m just seconds before it was due to land.
Media reports showed rescuers scrambling around charred sections of the aircraft, half of which fell on the hillside and the other half has fallen into the gorge of the Seti river.
Hundreds of rescuers from the army and the police were deployed to the scene. Local officials said they had manage to retrieve 66 bodies from the debris of the crash but rescue efforts had been hampered by the treacherous terrain.
Seventy-two people including four crew members and 68 passengers were on board the ATR 72 plane operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines when it crashed. There were 37 men, 25 women, three children and three infants onboard the fatal plane, Nepal’s civil aviation authority reported.
Passengers included five Indians, four Russians and one Irish, two South Korean, one Australian, one French and one Argentine national.
Nepal mourns victims of air crash
Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was “deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident.”
“I sincerely appeal to the security personnel, all agencies of the Nepal government, and the general public to start an effective rescue,” Dahal said on Twitter.
The government declared a public holiday to mourn the victims. Nepal’s Yeti Airlines said it was canceling all regular flights on Monday, January 16, in mourning for the crash victims.
The government also formed a team to investigate the cause of the disaster within 45 days.
Investigation
The aircraft involved in Sunday’s crash was an ATR 72-500, a twin-prop turbojet used mainly by low-cost carriers. The aircraft manufacturer said in a statement that “ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer.”
France’s air accident investigation agency BEA said it would participate in the probe into the causes of the crash.