Nepal plane crash: Unlikely there are survivors, police say
16-01-2023, 08:45

Font size: [ A+ ] / [ A- ]

Hopes of finding survivors from Nepal's worst air disaster in decades are fading, police say.

"It's unlikely there will be any survivors," spokesperson Tek Prasad Rai told the BBC. Teams were finding body parts at the scene, he added.

At least 68 people died when a flight from Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokhara crashed and caught fire on Sunday morning.

It is still unclear what caused the crash.

Mobile phone footage showed the Yeti Airlines flight rolling sharply as it approached the airport. There were 72 passengers and crew on board the domestic flight.

A search and rescue operation that involved hundreds of Nepalese soldiers was suspended due to darkness on Sunday. It resumed on Monday morning, with 300 police personnel deployed.

Earlier, local TV reports showed rescuers scrambling around charred sections of the aircraft which hit the ground in the gorge of the Seti River, just over a kilometre from the airport.

The prime minister of Nepal declared Monday a national day of mourning, and the government set up a panel to investigate the cause of the disaster.

Local resident Divya Dhakal told the BBC how she rushed to the crash site after seeing the aircraft plunge from the sky shortly after 11:00am local time (05:15 GMT).

"By the time I was there the crash site was already crowded. There was huge smoke coming from the flames of the plane. And then helicopters came over in no time," she said.

"The pilot tried his best to not hit civilisation or any home," she added. "There was a small space right beside the Seti River and the flight hit the ground in that small space."

Aviation accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, often due to its remote runways and sudden weather changes that can make for hazardous conditions.

This Himalayan nation, home to some of the most breath-taking mountains in the world, has some of the most difficult terrain to navigate.

A lack of investment in new aircraft and poor regulation have also been blamed in the past.

The European Union has banned Nepalese airlines from its airspace over concerns about training and maintenance standards.

In May 2022 a Tara Air plane crashed in northern Nepal, killing 22 people. Four years earlier 51 people were killed when a flight travelling from Bangladesh caught fire as it landed in Kathmandu.

Chiranjibi Paudel, whose journalist brother Tribhuvan was on the flight, said action had to be taken to improve aviation safety in Nepal.

"The airlines should be penalised and the regulatory body of the government also should be held accountable," he said.

The plane came down close to the newly built Pokhara International Airport, which only opened at the start of the year.

Travellers at the airport told the BBC they fly regularly and still feel safe after today's news - short plane journeys are a popular way for Nepal's middle classes to travel across the country.

"I'm not scared of flying," said Ria who was waiting for her bags to arrive, "but there needs to be better regulations and newer aircraft."

The Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokhara left the Nepalese capital just after 10:30 (04:45 GMT) for what should have been a short trip.

It had 68 passengers on board, including at least 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members.

Of the passengers, 53 were said to be Nepalese. There were five Indian, four Russians and two Koreans on the plane. There was also one passenger each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France among others.

Khum Bahadur Chhetri, a local resident, told Reuters that he was observing the flight from the roof of his home as it approached the airport.

"I saw the plane trembling, moving left and right, and then suddenly it nosedived and it went into the gorge," added.

 

BBC

 

Comments: 1238
#218   Richelle
      
Feel free to surf to my site Highstakes 777 Online
28 August 2025 14:52
#217   Laurie
      
Visit my site - high stack poker
28 August 2025 01:09
#216   Silas
      
27 August 2025 14:48
#215   Judson
      
27 August 2025 02:48
#214   Martin
      
Here is my web site ... http //dl.highstakesweeps.com
login
27 August 2025 02:17
#213   Kristal
      
Stop by my web site ... play Poker Online
27 August 2025 00:41
#212   Daniel
      
Stop by my web blog :: poker stakes
26 August 2025 23:58
#211   Anja
      
26 August 2025 22:39
#210   Verla
      
Look at my website - Highstakes 777 Online
26 August 2025 12:55
#209   Nichol
      
I used to be able to find good info from your articles.


Also visit my web blog: betonred
26 August 2025 06:46
#208   Brigitte
      
26 August 2025 04:55
#207   Phillis
      
Also visit my web blog: Play
Poker Online
26 August 2025 04:30
#206   Claire
      
Feel free to surf to my page Http //Dl.highstakesweeps.Com login
26 August 2025 04:02
#205   Avis
      
26 August 2025 03:21
#204   Johnie
      
25 August 2025 20:06
#203   Veola
      
25 August 2025 09:34
#201   Ivan
      
23 August 2025 23:49
#200   Manie
      
My web-site ... Free Poker
23 August 2025 22:49
#199   Lachlan
      
23 August 2025 17:11
Add Comments

Name:*
E-Mail:
  Geo Keyboard  
 

Dear reader, guardian.ge welcomes your comments. Please express your views on topic and be respectful of others.

bold italic underline strike | align left centered align right | Ensert smilies insert linkInsert protected URL Choice the color | hidden text insert quote Convert selected text from transliteration to Cyrillic alphabet Insert spoiler

Code: *


Back1 ... 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 ... 62Next