KATHMANDU (Reuters)Jan,15– At least 68 people were killed when a domestic flight crashed in Pokhara on Sunday, Nepal’s civil aviation authority said.
Hundreds of rescue workers combed the slopes where his Yeti Airlines plane carrying 72 people from the capital Kathmandu had crashed.
Local television showed rescue workers surrounding the damaged section of the plane. Part of the ground near the crash site was charred and flames were visible.
The crash is Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when Pakistan International Airlines’ Airbus A300 crashed into a hill on its way to Kathmandu, killing all 167 people on board, Aviation Safety said. Represented by Network’s database. The plane contacted the airport from the Seti Valley at 10am. Nearly, 50 pm (0505 GMT), the aviation authority said in a statement. “Then it crashed.”
Officer Ajay K.C. rescuers had difficulty reaching the scene in a canyon between two hills near the tourist city’s airport.
He has 8 of the 14 highest mountains in the world, and in Nepal, including Mount Everest, he has killed nearly 350 people in plane and helicopter crashes since 2000.
The European Union has banned Nepalese airlines from entering its airspace since 2013, citing safety concerns.
His three infants and his three children were on board the twin-engine ATR 72, according to a Civil Aviation Authority statement. The passengers included 5 Indians, 4 Russians, 1 Irish, 2 Koreans, 1 Australian, 1 French and 1 Argentinian.
Traveling from the capital city of Kathmandu to Pokhara, Nepal’s second largest city under the scenic Annapurna Mountains, is one of the Himalayan country’s most popular tourist routes, with many taking a six-hour drive through the rolling hills.
Pokhara airport spokesman Anoop Joshi said the plane had crashed as it was approaching the airport, adding: “The plane was flying at 12,500 feet and was making a normal descent.”Weather on Sunday is sunny.
Flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said on his Twitter account that the Yeti Airlines plane is 15 years old and fitted with an outdated transponder with unreliable data. The transponder’s last signal was received at 05:12 GMT at an altitude of 2,875 feet above mean sea level, he added. According to FlightRadar24, the Pokhara airport averages about 2,700 to 2,800 feet above sea level.
European aircraft manufacturer ATR’s ATR72 is a widely-used twin-engine turboprop aircraft produced by a joint venture between Airbus (AIR.PA) and Italy’s Leonardo (LDOF.MI). According to the website, Yeti Airlines owns six of his ATR72-500 aircraft.
“ATR specialists are fully committed to assisting both investigations and clients,” the company said on Twitter.
Airbus and Leonardo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Yeti describes itself as a major domestic airline on its website. Its fleet consists of six ATR 72-500s, including the crashed one.
