Passenger plane with 72 people onboard crashes in Nepal's Pokhara; at least 32 people killed

At least 32 people were killed when a Nepalese passenger plane with 72 people, including 10 foreigners, on board crashed into a river gorge on Sunday while landing at the Pokhara airport and eight bodies have been recovered, according to media reports.

A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the 9N ANC ATR72 aircraft that crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport, Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson of Yeti Airlines, told The Kathmandu Post.

While landing at the Pokhara airport, the aircraft crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport. There were a total of 68 passengers and four crew members, Republica newspaper reported.

The passengers included 10 foreigners, according to the state-run Nepal Television.

According to Tek Bahadur KC, Chief District Officer of the Kaski district, the plane crashed into the Seti river gorge.

According to the reports, rescue operations are underway and the airport is closed for the time being.

According to a spokesperson of the airlines, a total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the Yeti airlines that crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport.

Yeti Airlines plane had 53 Nepali, five Indians, four Russians, one Irish and two South Korean nationals onboard, according to a Nepal airport official

Images and videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site.

A 72-seater passenger aircraft crashes on the runway at #Pokhara International Airport in #Nepal. Rescue operations underway and the airport is closed for the time beinghttps://t.co/Ch9knvDqZY pic.twitter.com/245myscDcP

— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 15, 2023

The wreckage was on fire and rescue workers were trying to put out the blaze, said local official Gurudutta Dhakal.

The plane caught fire as it crashed, and rescue workers were trying to put it off, a local official was quoted as saying.

"We don't know right now if there are survivors," the airline's spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula told news agency AFP.

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called an emergency Cabinet meeting in the wake of the tragedy, Reuters reported.

The Prime Minister has urged security personnel and the general public to help with the rescue efforts, Associated Press reported.

"Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has reached Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu after the accident of the Yeti Airlines ANC ATR 72 plane carrying passengers from Kathmandu to Pokhara," tweets PMO Nepal pic.twitter.com/lNle3Pmupf

— ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2023

Nepal's air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.

But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.

Nepal has had a fraught record of aviation accidents, partly due to its sudden weather changes and airstrips located in hard-to-access rocky terrains.

The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.

The Himalayan country also has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.

Aircraft operators say Nepal lacks infrastructure for accurate weather forecasts, especially in remote areas with challenging mountainous terrain where deadly crashes have taken place in the past.

The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating treacherous flying conditions.

The last major air accident in Nepal happened on 29 May 2022, when all 22 people on board, including four members of an Indian family, were killed as a Tara Air plane crashed in Nepal's mountainous Mustang district.

With inputs from agencies

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