An ATR 72 of Yeti Airlines, flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara, crashed in Nayagaon at around 10:30 am, killing all 72 of the 68 passengers and four crew members on board.
UPDATE – Sun 15 Jan 23 07:23 PM
Locals watch the wreckage of a passenger plane in Pokhara, Nepal, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. A passenger plane carrying 72 people has crashed near Nepal’s Pokhara International Airport. (Photo: IANS)
Kathmandu: Rescuers have so far recovered 68 bodies from the wreckage of the ill-fated Yeti Airlines plane that crashed in Pokhara, Nepal, on Sunday, officials said.
An ATR 72 of Yeti Airlines, flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara, crashed in Nayagaun at around 10.30 am, killing all 72 of the 68 passengers and four crew members on board.
According to Yeti Airlines, the plane crashed between the old airport and Pokhara International Airport.
Among the passengers were 3 infants, 3 children and 62 adults.
According to the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority, the dead passengers included 53 Nepalese citizens, 5 Indians, 4 Russians, 1 Irishman, and 1 Australian.
The Rescue Coordination Center at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport said it was searching for the remaining four bodies at the crash site.
Of the 68 bodies charred by the blaze, 12 have been identified.
After the bodies are identified, they will begin handing them over to families, officials said.
According to Kaski police chief Ajay KC, the remains of the 64 victims have been taken to the Pokhara Institute of Health Sciences in Pokhara city.
Four members of the Armed Police Force have been deployed on the cliffs of the Seti River to search for the bodies of four others.
Meanwhile, an emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday following the accident was declared on holiday to mark the national day of mourning for those killed in the crash.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called an emergency meeting.
The Cabinet meeting has formed a five-member investigative committee headed by former secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Nagendra Ghimire to look into the accident.
The government has also directed every domestic airline’s planes to go through strict checks before taking off.
