Yeti Airlines’ ATR 72 aircraft, which took off from Kathmandu for Pokhara, crashed at Nayagaun around 10.30 a.m., killing all 72 people on board (68 passengers and 4 crew members).
Officials said that 68 bodies have been recovered so far from the debris of the ill-fated Yeti Airlines plane that crashed in Nepal’s Pokhara on Sunday.
Yeti Airlines’ ATR 72 aircraft, which took off from Kathmandu for Pokhara, crashed at Nayagaun around 10.30 a.m., killing all 72 people on board — 68 passengers and four crew members.
According to Yeti Airlines, the plane crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport.
There were three infants, three children, and 62 adults among the passengers.
The deceased passengers included 53 Nepalese citizens, five Indians, four Russians, one Irish, and one Australian, among others, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
The Tribhuvan International Airport’s Rescue Coordination Centre in Kathmandu said the search for the remaining four bodies was underway at the crash site.
Twelve of the 68 bodies that were charred by the fire have been identified.
Officials said that once the bodies have been identified, the process of returning them to their families will begin.
The bodies of 64 victims have been taken to the Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences in Pokhara, according to Kaski Police Chief Superintendent Ajay KC.
Four Armed Police Force personnel have been deployed to the Seti River cliff to search for the bodies of four others.
Meanwhile, following the accident, an emergency Cabinet meeting on Sunday declared a public holiday to mark a national day of mourning for the lives lost in the crash.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Prime Minister, convened an emergency meeting.
To investigate the accident, the Cabinet meeting formed a five-member probe committee led by Nagendra Ghimire, former secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation.
The government has also ordered that every domestic airline’s aircraft be thoroughly inspected before taking off.
