Nepal Mourns Victims Of Deadliest Plane Crash
photo courtesy
Nepal observed a day of mourning on Monday for the victims of the nation’s deadliest aviation
disaster in three decades, with 67 people confirmed killed in the plane crash.
The Yeti Airlines ATR 72 plummeted into a steep gorge, smashed into pieces and burst into flames
with 72 people on board as it approached the central city of Pokhara on Sunday, police said.
Soldiers used ropes and stretchers to retrieve bodies from the 300-metre (1,000-foot) deep ravine
late into the night, with recovery efforts set to resume on Monday.
“We have so far sent 63 bodies to the hospital,” said police officer AK Chhetri on Monday.
“Due to fog, the search has been paused. We will continue the search after one or two hours when
the weather clears.”
There was no word on the fate of the five people still unaccounted for.
Debris from the twin-engine turboprop airliner was strewn across the crash site, including the
mangled remains of its wings and passenger seats.
Rescue workers were rushed there after the crash, and tried to put out the raging fires that were
sending thick black smoke into the sky.
The Yeti Airlines crash in Pokhara killed at least 67 people, and is Nepal’s worst aviation disaster in
three decades.
‘There were 15 foreigners on board, including five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one
passenger each from Argentina, Australia, France and Ireland,’ Yeti spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula
told AFP.
The rest were Nepalis.
“Incredibly sad news out of Nepal of a plane crashing with many passengers on board,” Australian
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday, adding that his government was seeking information
about the Australian national on board.
The ATR 72 was on a flight from the capital Kathmandu and plunged into the gorge between
Pokhara’s brand-new international airport and the old domestic one shortly before 11 am (0515
GMT) on Sunday.
The ATR 72 aircraft plunged into a deep gorge in the city of Pokhara © AFP / Krishna Mani BARAL
“I was walking when I heard a loud blast, like a bomb went off,” said witness Arun Tamu, 44, who
was around 500 metres away and who livestreamed video of the blazing wreckage on social media.
“A few of us rushed to see if we can rescue anybody. I saw at least two women were breathing. The
fire was getting very intense and it made it difficult for us to approach closer,” the former soldier
told AFP.
It was unclear if anyone on the ground was injured.
“Our first thoughts are with all the individuals affected by this,” the plane’s France-based
manufacturer ATR said in a statement on Sunday.
“ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer.”
Nepal’s air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach
areas, as well as ferrying foreign mountain climbers.
But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance. The European
Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.
Nepal also has some of the world’s most remote and trickiest runways, flanked by snow-capped
peaks with approaches that pose a challenge for even accomplished pilots.
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