Tragic! Nepal’s plane crash claims 68 lives

According to the aviation department in the area, the flight from Kathmandu slammed into the gorge and smashed to pieces between Pokhara “s domestic and brand-new international airport on Sunday shortly before 11 am. The twin-propeller aircraft had been travelling from the capital, Kathmandu, to the city of Pokhara in central Nepal, a popular gateway to the…

POKHARA-(MaraviPost)-At least 68 people have died after a plane with 72 people on board crashed in Nepal’s Pokhara region

Nepal’s army spokesperson, Krishna Prasad Bhandari confirmed news of the tragedy in a statement.

According to the aviation department in the area, the flight from Kathmandu slammed into the gorge and smashed to pieces between Pokhara’s domestic and brand-new international airport on Sunday shortly before 11am.

The twin-propeller aircraft had been travelling from the capital, Kathmandu, to the city of Pokhara in central Nepal, a popular gateway to the Himalayan mountains for religious pilgrims and international trekkers when the accident happened, Guardian reported.

The Yeti Airlines’ 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am and the accident happened while attempting to land at the Pokhara airport. The flight reportedly crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport.

The ATR 72-500 plane was 15 years old and other reports suggest that it might have malfunctioned due to ageing transponder with and ATR, a Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer, said they were supporting an investigation into the crash.

Out of the 68 passengers and four crew on board, 53 were Nepalese and 15 were foreign nationals, including five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans and one passenger each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.

Meanwhile, the airport has been shut down and all flights scheduled on Monday have been cancelled. A five-member commission of inquiry has also been formed to investigate the cause of the incident and authorities have been instructed to conduct a technical inspection of all domestic flight aircraft.

Nepal has been branded one of the most difficult places to fly in the world due to it’s topography as it contains eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains.

In May last year, a passenger plane carrying 22 people crashed into the mountains of Nepal just minutes after taking off.

In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people on board.