68 confirmed dead after plane crashes in central Nepal - CBS News

1 year ago 48

Scores of rescue workers and onlookers crowded adjacent a steep gorge extracurricular a edifice municipality successful cardinal Nepal wherever a determination rider level crashed Sunday, arsenic rescuers combed the wreckage connected the borderline of the cliff and successful the ravine below.

So far, 68 radical person been confirmed dormant aft a determination rider level with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge portion landing astatine a recently opened airdrome successful the edifice municipality of Pokhara, according to an announcement posted by the country's Civil Aviation Authority to Twitter. It's the country's deadliest airplane mishap successful 3 decades.

In a statement, the bureau said 4 radical are inactive missing. Fifty-three of the passengers connected committee were Nepalese, 5 were Indian, 4 were Russian, 2 were Korean and 1 idiosyncratic from Australia, 1 from Argentina, 1 from Ireland and 1 from France, the bureau said. There were 4 unit members.

It was not instantly wide what caused the accident.

A witnesser said helium saw the craft spinning violently successful the aerial aft it began to effort a landing, watching from the terrace of his house. Gaurav Gurung said the level fell nose-first towards its near and past crashed into the gorge.

Local nonmigratory Bishnu Tiwari, who rushed to the clang tract adjacent the Seti River to assistance hunt for bodies, said the rescue efforts were hampered by heavy fume and a raging fire.

"The flames were truthful blistery that we couldn't spell adjacent the wreckage. I heard a antheral crying for help, but due to the fact that of the flames and fume we couldn't assistance him," Tiwari said.

At the clang site, astir 1.6 kilometers (nearly a mile) distant from Pokhara International Airport, rescuers sprayed occurrence hoses and heaved ropes down to different smoldering portion of the wreck below. Some bodies, burned beyond recognition, were carried by firefighters to hospitals, wherever grief-stricken relatives had assembled. At Kathmandu airport, household members appeared distraught arsenic they were escorted successful and astatine times exchanged heated words with officials arsenic they waited for information.

"The level caught occurrence aft the crash. There was fume everywhere," Gurung said.

The aviation authorization said the craft past made interaction with the airdrome from adjacent Seti Gorge astatine 10:50 a.m. earlier crashing.

The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal's Yeti Airlines, was flying from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, a 27-minute flight. No survivors person been recovered yet. The institution announced Sunday it was suspending each regular flights connected Monday.

For immoderate queries, interaction our lawsuit work astatine 015970074. pic.twitter.com/bTiMKGg8BJ

— Yeti Airlines (@FlyYeti) January 15, 2023

Tek Bahadur K. C., a elder administrative serviceman successful the Kaski district, said helium expected rescue workers to find much bodies astatine the bottommost of the gorge.

Images and videos shared connected Twitter showed plumes of fume billowing from the clang site, astir 1.6 kilometers (nearly a mile) distant from Pokhara International Airport. The aircraft's fuselage was divided into aggregate parts that were scattered down the gorge.

Firefighters carried bodies, immoderate burned beyond recognition, to hospitals wherever grief-stricken relatives had assembled. At Kathmandu airport, household members appeared distraught arsenic they were escorted successful and astatine times exchanged heated words with officials arsenic they waited for information.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to the airdrome aft the crash, acceptable up a sheet to analyse the accident.

"The incidental was tragic. The afloat unit of the Nepali army, constabulary has been deployed for rescue," helium said.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said successful a connection that it's inactive trying to corroborate the destiny of 2 South Korean passengers and has sent unit to the scene. The Russian Ambassador to Nepal, Alexei Novikov, confirmed the decease of 4 Russian citizens who were connected committee the plane.

Omar Gutiérrez, politician of Argentina's Neuquen province, reported connected his authoritative Twitter relationship that an Argentine rider connected the formation was Jannet Palavecino from his province.

The Facebook leafage of Palavecino says she was manager of the Hotel Suizo successful Neuquen city.

On the page, she described herself arsenic a person of travel, and of escapade tourism. "I americium passionate astir the mountains! Riding my motorcycle successful cycling. I emotion my plot and the countryside. I similar to paint!" she wrote.

Her relationship has galore photos of her successful the mountains.

The benignant of level involved, the ATR 72, has been utilized by respective airlines astir the satellite for abbreviated determination flights. Introduced successful the precocious 1980s by a French and Italian partnership, the craft exemplary has been progressive successful respective deadly accidents implicit the years. In 2018, an ATR 72 operated by Iran's Aseman Airlines crashed successful a foggy, mountainous region, sidesplitting each 65 aboard.

In Taiwan, 2 earlier accidents involving ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600 craft happened conscionable months apart.

In July 2014, a TransAsia ATR 72-500 formation crashed portion trying to onshore connected the scenic Penghu archipelago betwixt Taiwan and China, sidesplitting 48 radical onboard. An ATR 72-600 operated by the aforesaid Taiwanese hose crashed soon aft takeoff successful Taipei successful February 2015 aft 1 of its engines failed and the 2nd was unopen down, seemingly by mistake.

The 2015 crash, captured successful melodramatic footage that showed the level striking a taxi arsenic it hurtled retired of control, killed 43, and prompted authorities to crushed each Taiwanese-registered ATR 72s for immoderate time. TransAsia ceased each flights successful 2016 and aboriginal went retired of business.

ATR identified the level progressive successful Sunday's clang arsenic an ATR 72-500 successful a tweet. According to level tracking information from flightradar24.com, the craft was 15 years aged and "equipped with an aged transponder with unreliable data." It was antecedently flown by India's Kingfisher Airlines and Thailand's Nok Air earlier Yeti took it implicit successful 2019, according to records connected Airfleets.net.

Yeti Airlines has a fleet of six ATR72-500 planes, institution spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said.

Pokhara, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) westbound of Kathmandu, is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a fashionable hiking way successful the Himalayas. The city's caller planetary airdrome began operations lone 2 weeks ago. It was built with Chinese operation and fiscal support. The Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, said successful a tweet helium was "very shocked" to larn of the accident.

"At this hard time, our thoughts are with Nepali people. I would similar to explicit my heavy condolences to the victims, and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families," helium wrote.

Sunday's clang is Nepal's deadliest since 1992, erstwhile each 167 radical aboard a Pakistan International Airlines level were killed erstwhile it plowed into a elevation arsenic it tried to onshore successful Kathmandu.

Nepal, location to 8 of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has a past of aerial crashes. According to the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety database, determination person been 42 fatal level crashes successful Nepal since 1946.

Last year, 22 radical died erstwhile a level crashed connected a mountainside successful Nepal. In 2016, a Tara Air Twin Otter flying from Pokhara to Kathmandu crashed aft takeoff, sidesplitting each 23 radical aboard.

In 2012, an Agni Air level flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed, sidesplitting 15 people. Six radical survived. In 2014, a Nepal Airlines level flying from Pokhara to Jumla crashed, sidesplitting each 18 connected board.

In 1992, each 167 radical aboard a Pakistan International Airlines level were killed erstwhile it plowed into a elevation arsenic it tried to onshore successful Kathmandu.

The European Union has banned airlines from Nepal from flying into the 27-nation bloc since 2013, citing anemic information standards. In 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization cited improvements successful Nepal's aviation sector, but the EU continues to request administrative reforms.