The aircraft was carrying 68 passengers and four crew on board and crashed when approaching for landing. There is no news of survivors. At least 68 people died this Sunday (15/01) in Nepal in the crash of a plane of the company Yeti Airlines near the international airport of the city of Pokhara, at the moment in which the aircraft made the final approach of landing , the country’s aviation authorities said. This is the worst accident of its kind in the small Himalayan Asian country in almost five years.
Hundreds of members of rescue teams searched this Sunday morning the slope where the aircraft, which had taken off from the capital Kathmandu, crashed. There is no information about survivors.
According to Yeti Airlines, 68 passengers and 4 crew were on board the twin-engine ATR 72, which was 15 years old. Among the passengers were two babies, as well as citizens of other countries: five Indians, four Russians, one Irishman, two South Koreans, one Australian, one Frenchman and one Argentinean.
mountaineers destination
Pokhara is an internationally popular destination for religious pilgrimage and mountaineering.
“Weather conditions are good, search operations are ongoing,” said Jagannath Niroula, spokesman for the Nepalese Civil Aviation Authority.
Footage shown on local television showed a thick cloud of black smoke rising from the crash area as rescuers tried to control the flames and onlookers crowded around the wreckage.
“Thirty bodies were recovered and sent to the hospital,” Niroula told the Reuters news agency. “Another 14 bodies are still at the crash site, and authorities are bringing in a crane to remove them.”
Videos circulating on social media show a plane flying low over a residential area and suddenly turning left before a loud explosion is heard.
Low safety standards
Safety standards in Nepal’s air traffic are low, staff are generally poorly trained, and aircraft are poorly maintained. As a result, the European Union has banned all Nepalese airlines from its airspace.
Furthermore, the country is home to some of the most remote and difficult airstrips in the world. The weather in the mountains of Nepal can change quickly, creating dangerous flying conditions.
Last May, all 22 people on board were killed when a plane belonging to Nepalese airline Tara Air crashed en route between Pokhara and the mountain destination of Jomsom.
In March 2018, 51 people died when a plane operated by Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla crashed near Kathmandu’s international airport.
The most serious air crash in Nepal occurred in 1992, when 167 people died on board a Pakistan International Airlines plane that crashed on approach to Kathmandu airport.
md (AFP, Reuters)
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