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Nepal plane crash with 72 onboard leaves at least 40 dead

15 January 2023 12:12 (UTC +04:00)

At least 40 people were killed when an aircraft crashed in Nepal on Sunday, a Nepal army spokesperson said, as hundreds of rescue workers scoured the hillside crash site, APA reports.

“We expect to recover more bodies,” the spokesperson, Krishna Bhandari, said. “The plane has broken into pieces.”

A Yeti Airlines spokesperson, Sudarshan Bartaula, said there were 72 people onboard – 68 passengers and four crew. According to an airport official, the foreign nationals on board included: one Australian, one French, one Argentinian, four Russians, five Indians, two South Koreans and one person from Ireland.

“Rescue is under way, we don’t know right now if there are survivors,” Bartaula said.

The plane crashed between the old and new Pokhara airports in central Nepal.

The wreckage was on fire and rescue workers were trying to put out the blaze, local official Gurudutta Dhakal said.

“Responders have already reached there and trying to douse the fire,” Dhakal said. “All agencies are now focused on first dousing the fire and rescuing the passengers.”