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68 dead, 4 missing after plane crashes in Nepal resort town

Published:Sunday | January 15, 2023 | 10:25 AM
Nepalese rescue workers and civilians gather around the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed in Pokhara, Nepal, Sunday, January 15, 2023. Authorities in Nepal said 68 people have been confirmed dead after a regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara. It's the country's deadliest airplane accident in three decades. (AP Photo/Krishna Mani Baral)

POKHARA, Nepal (AP) — As search efforts ended for the day, 68 people were confirmed dead after a regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara Sunday, according to Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority.

It's the country's deadliest airplane accident in three decades.

Scores of rescue workers and onlookers crowded near a steep gorge hours after dark Sunday, as rescuers combed the wreckage on the edge of the cliff and in the ravine below.

Officials suspended the search for the four missing people overnight and will resume looking Monday.

Local resident Bishnu Tiwari, who rushed to the crash site near the Seti River to help search for bodies, said the rescue efforts were hampered by thick smoke and a raging fire.

“The flames were so hot that we couldn't go near the wreckage. I heard a man crying for help, but because of the flames and smoke we couldn't help him,” Tiwari said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.

A witness said he saw the aircraft spinning violently in the air after it began landing, watching from the terrace of his house. Finally, Gaurav Gurung said, the plane fell nose-first towards its left and crashed into the gorge.

The aviation authority said the aircraft last made contact with the airport from near Seti Gorge at 10:50 a.m. before crashing.

The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal's Yeti Airlines, was flying from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, a 27-minute flight.

It was carrying 68 passengers including 15 foreign nationals, as well as 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. No survivors have been found yet.

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