Pokhara airport: A plane disaster in central Nepal claimed at least 40 lives

Near an airport in central Nepal, a plane carrying 72 people crashed, and authorities say at least 40 remains have been found.

A Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to the popular tourist destination of Pokhara airport crashed and caught fire as it touched down.

Social media videos show an airplane passing closely above a busy area before abruptly rotating.

On board were four staff members and 68 passengers, at least 15 of whom were foreigners.

Only 1.5 kilometers from the airport, hundreds of Nepalese soldiers are working on the operation at the accident site in the Seti River’s valley.

A video captured near the crash site shows burning wreckage and dense, billowing black smoke.

The jet “has split into pieces,” an army spokesman told Reuters, adding that “we anticipate to recover additional bodies.”

To expedite rescue efforts, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal convened an emergency meeting of his cabinet.

Fifty-three of the travelers are reportedly from Nepal. On the plane, there were two Koreans, five Russians, and five Indians. In addition, there was one traveler from each Ireland, Australia, Argentina, and France.

Because of Nepal’s distant runways and potentially dangerous rapid weather changes, aviation accidents are not rare there.

Twenty-two passengers were kill when a Tara Air plane crash in the Mustang area of northern Nepal in May 2022.

A US-Bangla flight from Dhaka, Bangladesh, bound for Kathmandu at the beginning of 2018, crashed and caught fire as it was landing, killing 51 people.