A passenger plane carrying dozens of people on board has crashed in the Nepalese city of Pokhara. The airport authority announced on Sunday that 68 bodies had been recovered so far. There were 72 people on the local Yeti Airlines plane, 68 of whom were passengers and four crew members. Several children are said to have been among the passengers, like them Kathmandu Post writes.
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, Australia, Argentina and France on board, according to the airport authorities.
Videos and photos on social media showed plumes of smoke and fire at the alleged crash site. Further details, such as the cause of the crash, were not initially known.
Like other Nepalese airlines, Yeti Airlines is on an EU airline blacklist due to safety concerns and is not allowed to fly in European airspace. The plane involved in the accident was an ATR 72-500, a short-haul regional airliner manufactured by a joint venture between Europe’s Airbus and Leonardo. According to the company, Yeti Airlines’ fleet consists of six aircraft of this type. ATR said they would help with the investigation.
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 two Hessians. 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.