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At least 40 people were killed after a Nepal passenger plane with 72 people onboard crashed into a river gorge on January 15 while landing at the Pokhara airport.
The aircraft belonging to Yeti Airlines had four crew members and at least fifteen foreigners on board. There were five Indians among passengers in the ill-fated aircraft that crashed in Pokhara, Nepal aviation official confirmed to The Hindu.
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Also read: Nepal plane crash | Five Indians onboard aircraft, confirms Embassy
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Yeti Airlines’ 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport at 10.33 a.m.
- Yeti aircraft was 15 years old, says report
- Cause of Yeti plane crash yet to be ascertained
- Panel formed to probe Yeti plane crash
- At least 15 foreigners among 72 onboard: Yeti airline
- Toll rises to 40
- Indian embassy issues helpline numbers
- Monitoring the situation: Indian Embassy in Nepal
- At least 32 killed, five Indians among passengers
- PM Prachanda directs effective rescue operations following Pokhara plane crash
- Nepal PM calls emergency cabinet meeting after plane crash
- Nepal passenger aircraft carrying 72 onboard crashes at Pokhara airport
Yeti aircraft was 15 years old, says report
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines, was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members, Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.
According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, the aircraft was 15 years old and “equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data.” – AP
Cause of Yeti plane crash yet to be ascertained
Rescuers scoured the crash site near the Seti River, which is about 1.6 kilometers away from Pokhara International Airport, using ropes to pull out bodies from the wreckage, parts of which were hanging over the edge of the gorge.
Tek Bahadur K. C., a senior administrative officer in the Kaski district, said he expected rescue workers to find more bodies at the bottom of the gorge.
It was not immediately clear what caused the plane to crash.
Panel formed to probe Yeti plane crash
The Nepal government on Sunday formed a five-member commission of inquiry to probe Yeti Airlines plane crash, PTI reported.
Local TV showed rescue workers scrambling around broken sections of the aircraft. Some of the ground near the crash site was scorched, with licks of flames visible.
At least 15 foreigners among 72 onboard: Yeti airline
Fifteen foreigners were among the 72 people onboard a plane that crashed in Nepal on Sunday, Yeti Airlines said.
They included five people from India, four Russians, two Koreans, and one person each from Australia, Argentina, Ireland and France, spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula said. – AFP
Toll rises to 40
The toll in the plane crash at Pokhara airport has increased to 40, reported Reuters. Hundreds of rescue workers were scouring the hillside where the Yeti Airlines flight, carrying 72 people from the capital Kathmandu, went down.
The weather was clear, said Jagannath Niroula, spokesman for Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority.
Indian embassy issues helpline numbers
Indian embassy in Kathmandu has put out the numbers for public outreach.
Helpline of Embassy: 1 Kathmandu: Shri Diwakar Sharma +977-9851107021 2. Pokhara Lt Col Shashank Tripathi: +977-9856037699. “Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is monitoring the situation,” said the embassy in its message.
Monitoring the situation: Indian Embassy in Nepal
The Indian embassy in Nepal has said it is in touch with local authorities and is monitoring the situation. “An ATR-72 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 embassy is in touch with their family. Our emergency hotline number :+977-9851107021,” it tweeted.
At least 32 killed, five Indians among passengers
At least 32 people died on Sunday in Nepal, where an aircraft of domestic carrier Yeti Airlines crashed in Pokhara. The flight carried five Indians among passengers, an official of Nepal Airport told The Hindu.
The plane was carrying 68 passengers and four crew members, the daily newspaper Kathmandu Post reported, quoting a spokesperson for Yeti Airlines.
PM Prachanda directs effective rescue operations following Pokhara plane crash
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda on Sunday instructed security personnel and all government agencies to carry out effective rescue operations after a Nepal passenger plane with 72 people onboard crashed near the Pokhara airport. – PTI
Nepal PM calls emergency cabinet meeting after plane crash
After news of the plane, carrying about 72 people from capital Kathmandu that crashed in Pokhara this morning, broke the country’s prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, called an emergency cabinet meeting.
Relatives of a crashed passenger plane wail at Katmandhu airport, Nepal, on January 15, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AP
The plane also had one Australian, one French and one Argentinian onboard, Reuters quoted Nepal Airport official as saying.
While landing at the Pokhara airport, the aircraft crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport.
Nepal’s Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, in a tweet said he was deeply saddened by the accident and directed all agencies of the Nepal government to start an effective rescue. Following the crash, the prime minister called an emergency cabinet meeting, Reuters reported.
He has reached the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
Nepal passenger aircraft carrying 72 onboard crashes at Pokhara airport
A 72-seat Nepal passenger aircraft crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the central resort town of Pokhara on Sunday, killing at least 32 people, an official said.
Rescuers were scouring the crash site near the Seti River, which is nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) away from Pokhara International Airport, and were expecting to find more bodies, said Tek Bahadur K. C., a senior administrative officer in the Kaski district.
It was not immediately clear what caused the plane to crash.
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members, Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.
Last year, 22 people died when a plane crashed on a mountainside in Nepal. In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people aboard.- AP
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia condoled the loss of lives in the plane crash in Pokhara.
“The loss of lives in a tragic plane crash in Nepal is extremely unfortunate. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the bereaved. Om Shanti,” tweeted Mr. Scindia.
(With inputs from agencies)
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