Nepal plane crash: how many people have died, where was the crash - was it near Pokhara International Airport?

A national day of mourning is under way in Nepal after at least 68 people died in a plane crash.

Rescue workers rappelled down the 984ft Seti Gorge in Pokhara to continue the search after the plane crashed while attempting to land at a newly-opened airport.

A spokesman for Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder have been retrieved from the site, but it still remains unclear what caused the crash.

The death toll rose to 68 after two more bodies were found on Monday morning (16 January). The 72-seat passenger aircraft crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the centre of the country.

Rescuers were scouring the crash site in the resort town of Pokhara, near the Seti River, which is nearly a mile (1.6km) away from Pokhara International Airport, and were expecting to find more bodies, said Tek Bahadur KC, a senior administrative officer in Kaski district. It is the country’s deadliest aviation accident in three decades.

The country’s Civil Aviation Authority posted the announcement on Twitter on Sunday, while rescuers were scouring the crash site near the Seti River, nearly a mile (1.6km) away from Pokhara International Airport. At the crash site, rescuers used ropes to pull bodies from the wreckage, parts of which were hanging over the edge of the gorge.

Some victims, burned beyond recognition, were carried by firefighters to hospitals, where grief-stricken relatives had assembled. It was not immediately clear what caused the plane to crash.

The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines, was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members, Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.

“There was smoke everywhere”

Witness Diwas Bohora, who recorded footage of the plane’s descent from his balcony, said he saw the plane flying low before it suddenly veered to its left.

After it crashed, red flames erupted and the ground shook violently, like an earthquake, Mr Bohora said, adding: “Seeing that scene, I was scared”.

Another witness, Gaurav Gurung, who was watching from the terrace of his house, said he saw the plane spinning violently in the air after it began to attempt a landing, adding that the plane fell nose-first towards its left and then crashed into the gorge. He said: “The plane caught fire after the crash. There was smoke everywhere.”

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to the airport after the crash, said the plane was flying from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara. He urged security personnel and the general public to help with the rescue efforts.

He said: ”The incident was tragic. The full force of the Nepali army, police has been deployed for rescue.” South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it is still trying to confirm the fate of two South Korean passengers and has sent staff to the scene.

Images and videos shared on Twitter showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers, Nepali soldiers, and crowds of people gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft. Pokhara, located 125 miles (200km) west of Kathmandu, is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas. Pokhara International Airport began operations only two weeks ago.

Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has a history of air crashes. Last year, 22 people died when a plane crashed on a mountainside in Nepal.

In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people on board. In 1992, all 167 people on board a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it ploughed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.