Nepal: 68 killed in Yeti Airline plane crash in Pokhara, say rescue official

At least 68 people were killed when a Nepalese passenger plane with 72 people onboard including five Indians crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newlyopened airport in central Nepals resort city of Pokhara on Sunday a rescue official saidYeti Airlines 9NANC ATR72 aircraft took off from Kathmandus Tribhuvan International Airport at 1033 am and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal CAANA total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraftSo far dead bodies of 68 people have been recovered from the crash site an official at the Search and Rescue Coordination Committee of the CAAN told PTI over the phoneHowever the dead bodies are yet to be identified he added Efforts are on to recover four more bodies he saidForeign nationals onboard the plane included five Indians four Russians two Koreans an Australian a French an Argentine and an IsraeliThe five Indians have been identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha Bishal Sharma Anil Kumar Rajbhar Sonu Jaiswal and Sanjaya JaiswalThere is no information about any survivor so far said Sudarshan Bartaula spokesperson at Yeti AirlinesThe weather in Pokhara was absolutely fine and the engine of the aircraft was also in good condition he saidWe dont know what has happened to the airplane he saidThe search for the remaining four people onboard is underwayHowever some local media reported that the aircraft took a wider turn while attempting to land which may have caused the accident It was a new airport builtunder a Chinese soft loan and inaugurated just two weeks agoAn ATR72 plane of Yeti Airlines crashed today near the Pokhara Airport while flying from Kathmandu According to the info provided by Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal 5 Indians were travelling on this flight Rescue operations are underway the Indian mission tweetedThe embassy is in touch with local authorities and is monitoring the situation it saidDeeply grieved on hearing about the air crash in Pokhara Nepal Our thoughts are with the affected families Indias External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted and shared the helpline numbers of the Indian EmbassyAccording to Tek Bahadur KC Chief District Officer of the Kaski district the plane crashed into the Seti river gorge Rescue operations are currently being conducted he was quoted as saying by The Himalayan Times newspaperAmong the passengers were three infants three childrenPrime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda held an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers following the crashThe emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Sunday afternoon has decided to announce a public holiday on January 16 to mourn the victims of the Yeti Airlines plane crashAlso Read Nepal plane crash Fivemember commission formed to probe Yeti aircraft incidentHe expressed sadness over the crash and directed the Home Ministry security personnel and all the government agencies to carry out immediate rescue and relief operationsThe government formed a fivemember probe committee under Nagendra Ghimire former secretary at the Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation to investigate the accidentThe government has also directed that every domestic airlines aircraft undergo rigorous inspections before taking a flightFollowing the Yeti Airlines aircraft crash the Pokhara International Airport has been closed for today for all incoming and outgoing flightsImages and videos posted on social media platforms showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash siteShortly after the crash police reached and started a rescue operationHowever the police said that it was not possible to deploy enough manpower Police said that bringing the fire under control was difficult as the fire engine could not reach the gorge where the crash took place As a result the fire is yet to be brought under controlGyan Bahadur Khadka police spokesman Kaski said that there was a problem in the rescue due to the difficult terrainAfter the aircraft crashed in the center of Pokhara a crowd gathered around the accident siteSpokesman Khadka said that this has hampered the rescue process He said There is a crowd of thousands Due to the crowd there has been a problem in the rescue as even the ambulance and fire brigade has been hinderedNepal has had a fraught record of aviation accidents partly due to its sudden weather changes and airstrips located in hardtoaccess rocky terrainsThe last major air accident in Nepal happened on May 29 when all 22 people onboard including four members of an Indian family were killed as a Tara Air plane crashed in Nepals mountainous Mustang districtIn 2016 all 23 people aboard were killed when a plane of the same airline flying the same route crashed after takeoffIn March 2018 a USBangla Air crash occurred at the Tribhuvan International Airport killing 51 people on boardA Sita Air flight crashed in September 2012 while making an emergency landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport killing 19 peopleA plane flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed near Jomsom airport on May 14 2012 killing 15 peopleThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever