A passenger plane carrying dozens of people on board has crashed in the Nepalese city of Pokhara. At least 69 bodies have been recovered so far, the airport authority said on Sunday. 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 shortly before landing on the half-hour flight between the capital Kathmandu and the second largest city Pokhara. 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.
The last contact with the airport was at 10:50 a.m. local time. The wreck was stranded in a ravine in the middle of the city, footage on Nepalese television and social media showed it surrounded by dark smoke and fire. Further details, such as the cause of the crash, were not initially known. The investigations are ongoing.
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. The latest crash is one of the worst air traffic accidents in Nepal in years.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed his dismay and ordered security forces, all Nepalese government agencies and local people to help with the security work.