disaster in the Himalayas
Plane with 68 passengers crashes in Nepal – 44 dead have already been recovered
Rescuers and onlookers gather at the plane crash site in Pokhara
© Krishna Mani Baral / AFP
A plane carrying dozens of people crashed shortly before landing in Pokhara, Nepal, for initially unknown reasons. So far, 44 bodies have been recovered. It is not the first accident in the mountain region.
A passenger plane carrying dozens of people on board has crashed in the Nepalese city of Pokhara. A police spokesman in Pokhara told the German Press Agency on Sunday that 44 bodies have been recovered so far. “We don’t know at the moment if there are any survivors,” a spokesman for Yeti Airlines told AFP on Sunday. Among the 72 people on board are 68 passengers and four crew members.
Cause of crash initially unknown
Around 300 police officers and additional members of the army are on site for rescue work, the spokesman said. The plane crashed on Sunday morning on the route between the capital Kathmandu and Pokhara shortly before landing. In addition to Nepalese, there were also Indians, Russians, Koreans and one person each from Ireland, Argentina and France on board, the Indian news agency ANI reported, citing airport authorities.
Videos and photos on social media showed plumes of smoke and fire at the alleged crash site. The cause of the crash was initially unknown.
Safety standards in Nepal’s air transport are low due to insufficient staff training and poor maintenance of the machines. The European Union has therefore banned all Nepalese airlines from its airspace. In addition, the Himalayan state is home to some of the most remote and difficult airstrips in the world. The weather in Nepal’s mountains can change quickly, creating dangerous flying conditions.
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Not the first plane crash in the region
Pokhara is about 200 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu and is the starting point for numerous trekking tours in the Himalayas, including the Annapurna circuit. The Annapurna massif is a popular trekking region in the country. There have been several plane crashes in the mountainous region.
Last year, 22 people died in a crash on the Pokhara-Jomsom flight route, including 2 Hessians. In March 2018, 51 people were killed when a plane operated by Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla crashed near the international airport in the capital, Kathmandu. The worst plane crash in Nepal happened in 1992. At that time, 167 people died on board a Pakistan International Airlines plane when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu Airport.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed his grief and ordered security forces, all Nepalese government agencies and local people to help with the security work.