Nepal plane crash: At least 68 dead after 72-seater plane crashes near airport
A plane carrying 72 people crashed near Pokhara International Airport in Nepal.
The plane was carrying a total of 68 passengers and four crew members, the Kathmandu Post daily reported, citing a Yeti Airlines spokesperson.
The newspaper added that rescue operations are underway.
Images and videos shared on Twitter showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site.
District Chief Tek Bahadur KC first told local news that 'around 30 bodies were recovered', a grim tally updated to 68 later in the day - making it the accident deadliest aircraft in three decades.
Picture:
Twitter)The chances of finding survivors were "minimal", he said.
Initial unconfirmed reports indicate there were a total of 15 foreign nationals on board - five Indians, four Russians, an Irishman, an Australian, a Frenchman, an Argentine and two South Koreans, Kathmandu reported Post.
Three of the passengers were infants, three were children and the remaining 62 were adults.
Picture:
AFP via Getty Images)Fifty-three Nepalese were reportedly killed, according to the Post.
At the crash site, rescuers used ropes to pull the bodies from the wreckage, parts of which were hanging over the edge of the gorge. Some bodies, burned beyond recognition, were transported by firefighters to hospitals, where bereaved relatives had gathered.
The cause of the plane crash was not immediately clear.
A witness to the crash said he saw the plane spinning violently in the air after it began attempting to land, watching from the terrace of his house. Gaurav Gurung said the plane fell nose first to his left and then crashed into the gorge.
A plane carrying 72 people crashed near Pokhara International Airport in Nepal.
The plane was carrying a total of 68 passengers and four crew members, the Kathmandu Post daily reported, citing a Yeti Airlines spokesperson.
The newspaper added that rescue operations are underway.
Images and videos shared on Twitter showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site.
District Chief Tek Bahadur KC first told local news that 'around 30 bodies were recovered', a grim tally updated to 68 later in the day - making it the accident deadliest aircraft in three decades.
Picture:
Twitter)The chances of finding survivors were "minimal", he said.
Initial unconfirmed reports indicate there were a total of 15 foreign nationals on board - five Indians, four Russians, an Irishman, an Australian, a Frenchman, an Argentine and two South Koreans, Kathmandu reported Post.
Three of the passengers were infants, three were children and the remaining 62 were adults.
Picture:
AFP via Getty Images)Fifty-three Nepalese were reportedly killed, according to the Post.
At the crash site, rescuers used ropes to pull the bodies from the wreckage, parts of which were hanging over the edge of the gorge. Some bodies, burned beyond recognition, were transported by firefighters to hospitals, where bereaved relatives had gathered.
The cause of the plane crash was not immediately clear.
A witness to the crash said he saw the plane spinning violently in the air after it began attempting to land, watching from the terrace of his house. Gaurav Gurung said the plane fell nose first to his left and then crashed into the gorge.
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