Nepal: A plane carrying 72 people crashed in Nepal, killing at least 40 people. Rescuers and crowds gathered around the aircraft wreckage as thick black smoke billowed from the crash site.
In social media footage, the plane flew low before beginning to spin. A spokesman for the airline cited that, it was carrying four crew members and 68 passengers, including two infants. According to a spokesman for the Nepal aviation authority, at least 40 bodies have been removed from the accident site near Pokhara International Airport.
“We expect to recover more bodies, The plane has broken into pieces.” army spokesperson Mr. Krishna Bhandari remarked. Pokhara, 125 miles (200 KM) west of the nation’s capital Kathmandu, serves as the starting point for the popular Himalaya hiking circuit known as the Annapurna Circuit.
Horrifying last moments of an ATR plane crash from Nepal in Pokhara that was bound for Kathmandu. All 72 people on board are dead. pic.twitter.com/4JZIvnThPQ
— Wajahat Kazmi (@KazmiWajahat) January 15, 2023
The prime minister, Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, called an urgent cabinet meeting and urged locals and security forces to assist in rescue operations. The twin-engine ATR 72 operated by Yeti Airlines was en route from Kathmandu, an airport official stated.
The plane was 15 years old, according to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24. Eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, are found in Nepal, where plane crashes are not unusual because of the country’s unstable weather.
A plane crash on a mountainside last year claimed the lives of 22 people. A plane crash on a mountainside last year caused the deaths of 22 people.
