A plane with 72 people on board crashed in Nepal: there are at least 32 dead

Firefighters extinguished the flames to begin the rescue of the passengers

At least 32 people died on Sunday when a 72-seat airliner crashed into a gorge while trying to land in Pokhara, a tourist town in central Nepal, according to an official.

Rescuers were working at the crash site near the Seti River, about two kilometers from Pokhara International Airport, and were expected to find more bodies, said Tek Bahadur KC, administrative officer in Kaski district. At first it was not clear what had caused the crash.

The ATR 72 twin-engine plane operated by the Nepalese company Yeti Airlines was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members, according to a statement from the Nepalese Civil Aviation Authority. The foreigners were five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, one Irishman, one Australian, one Argentinean, and one Frenchman.

In a previous balance, an official said that there were survivors. “We have found 29 bodies so far and we have also transferred some survivors to the hospital,” Gurudatta Dhakal, deputy head of the Kaski district in central Nepal, where the accident took place, told AFP.

A Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 aircraft (Reuters) 68 passengers and 4 crew members were traveling on the plane

According to a local official identified as Gurudutta Dhakal, rescue services were trying to put out the flames at the crash site to start rescuing the passengers.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to the crash site, said the plane was flying from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara and urged security personnel and the general population to help rescue efforts.

Videos published on social networks, attributed to the accident this Sunday, show columns of smoke coming out of the area where the accident took place.

Pokhara airport serves as a connection for travelers heading to the town of Jomsom, located in the heart of the Himalayas, a popular destination among foreign tourists visiting the Annapurna peak (8,091 meters) or the Mustang region, as well as pilgrims Hindus.

According to a local official identified as Gurudutta Dhakal, rescue services were trying to put out the flames at the crash site to start rescuing the passengers. (Reuters)

Nepal, with frequent air accidents, has been the target of repeated international sanctions for the lack of controls. In addition, it has one of the most remote and difficult airstrips in the world, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that challenge even the most experienced pilots.

Air operators say that Nepal lacks infrastructure to make accurate weather forecasts, especially in remote areas with difficult mountainous terrain, where fatal accidents have occurred in the past.

The European Union has banned access to its territory for Nepali airlines since 2013.

The Nepalese authorities have recovered at least 25 bodies after the accident, said Deputy Deputy Inspector of the Nepalese Police, Rudra Thapa. (Reuters)

In May 2022, the 22 people who were traveling on board a plane of the Nepalese company Tara Air died when it crashed. Air traffic control lost contact with the twin-propeller Twin Otter shortly after it took off from Pokhara and headed for Jomsom, a popular trekking destination.

His remains were found a day later, scattered on the side of a mountain at an altitude of about 4,400 meters. Some 60 people took part in the search mission, most of whom traveled miles uphill to get there.

After that accident, the authorities tightened the regulations, indicating that the planes would only receive authorization to fly if there was a favorable weather forecast for the entire route.

Pokhara airport serves as a connection for travelers heading to the town of Jomsom, located in the heart of the Himalayas, a popular destination among foreign tourists visiting the Annapurna peak. (Reuters)

The most serious air accident in recent years in Nepal occurred in March 2018, when a Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla plane from Dhaka crashed during landing maneuver at Kathmandu International Airport with 67 passengers and four crew members on board, leaving fifty dead.

Just two months earlier, a Thai Airways plane crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.

(With information from AFP, AP and EFE)

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