Kathmandu, Nepal
CNN
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At least 68 people died on Sunday. When a plane crashed near Pokhara central nepal government officials stated which is the country’s deadliest plane crash in more than 30 years.
Of the 72 passengers, four crew members and 68 passengers, were on board ATR 72 operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines when it crashed, said Yeti Airlines spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula. Thirty-seven were men, 25 were women, three were children and three were children. It’s a baby, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal reports.
The search effort was canceled after dark, army spokesman Krishna Prasad Bhandari said, and the search would resume on Monday morning. Hundreds of responders are still working to locate the four remaining individuals before then, Bhandari said.
Sunday’s crash was the third deadliest in Himalayan history. According to information from the Aviation Safety Network The only incidents with higher fatalities occurred in July and September 1992. The crashes involved planes operated by Thai Airways and Pakistan International Airlines. and caused 113 and 167 deaths, respectively.
The civil aviation authority said 53 passengers and four crew members were Nepalese. There were 15 foreigners on board, including five Indians, four Russians and two Koreans. The rest are citizens of Australia, Argentina, France and Ireland.
The plane was flying from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara. The second most populous city in the country. and a gateway to the Himalayas, state media The Rising Nepal reported. Pokhara is about 129 kilometers (80 miles) west of Kathmandu.
The plane last made contact with Pokhara Airport at around 10:50 a.m. local time, about 18 minutes after takeoff. From there it descends into the nearby Seti River Gorge. First responders from the Nepalese army and various police departments have been dispatched to the scene and rescue operations are ongoing. Civil aviation officials said in a statement.
Video footage posted on social media on Sunday showed the moment before the plane crashed. The film was shot from rooftops in Pokhara. It shows the plane flying low over a populated area and flipping on its side before the plane no longer appears in the clip. A loud explosion can be heard towards the end of the video.
CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the clip.
A five-member committee has also been set up to investigate the cause of the crash. Nepal’s deputy prime minister and government spokesman, Bishnu Paudel, said the quintet must submit a report to the government within 45 days.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he “Deeply saddened by this tragic and tragic accident.”
“I sincerely appeal to the security staff. All departments of the government of Nepal. and general public Let effective help begin,” Dahal said on Twitter.
The government declared Monday a public holiday to mourn the victims. A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office said
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin both expressed their condolences. as well as the Australian Ambassador to Nepal.
Nepal’s Yeti Airlines said it had canceled all regular flights on Monday, Jan. 16 in mourning for the victims of the plane crash.
Nepal’s Himalayas It is home to 8 of the 14 highest mountains in the world, including Everest. have a history of air accidents. The weather can change suddenly. And the airport is usually located in a mountainous area that is difficult to reach.
Last May, a Tara Air flights can carry 22 people. It crashed into a Himalayan mountain at an altitude of about 14,500 feet, marking the country’s 19th plane crash in 10 years and the 10th fatal in the same period, according to Reuters. aviation safety network database
The plane involved in Sunday’s crash was an ATR 72-500, a twin-rotor turbojet aircraft commonly used in the Asia-Pacific region. especially in low-cost airlines The aircraft is manufactured by ATR, a joint venture between European aerospace companies Airbus and Leonardo. usually has a good reputation.
However, they have had problems before. Two ATR 72s operated by Taiwan’s now-shutdown Transasia Airlines were implicated in the crash in Taiwan. July 2014 and February 2015Second, the Taiwanese authorities temporarily suspend all registered ATR 72s on the island.
In total, several versions of the ATR 72 were involved in 11 fatal incidents before Sunday’s crash in Nepal. according to the Aviation Safety Network.
ATR said in a statement on Sunday that it had been notified of the accident.
“Our first thought is that everyone affected by this,” the statement reads, “ATR experts are fully involved in supporting both the investigation and the client.”
