At least 68 people die after a plane crash in Nepal

During the day, local television showed rescuers searching through the charred fragments of the aircraft that fell to the ground near the Seti River, just over a kilometer from the airport.

Most of the 72 passengers and crew they died, but there were unconfirmed reports that several people had survived, albeit badly injured.

It is not clear what caused the accident. Nepal has a tragic history of fatal plane crashes.

The Prime Minister of Nepal declared on Monday national day of mourning and the government established a panel to investigate the cause of the disaster.

The Yeti Airlines flight, on the Kathmandu-Pokhara route, left the Nepalese capital shortly after 10:30 a.m. (0445 GMT) for what should have been a short journey.

had on board 68 passengers, including at least 15 foreigners, and four crew members.

Of the passengers, 53 are known to be Nepali. There were five Indians, four Russians, and two Koreans on the plane. There was also at least one passenger from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France, among others.

Khum Bahadur Chhetri, a local resident, told Reuters he was watching the flight from the roof of his house as it approached the airport.

“I saw the plane shaking, moving from left to right, and then all of a sudden it plummeted and went into the gorge,” he explained.

A local resident, Divya Dhakal, told the BBC that she rushed to the crash site after seeing the plane go down.

“By the time I got there, the crash site was already crowded. There was a lot of smoke coming from the flames of the plane. And then helicopters arrived in no time,” he explained.

“The pilot did his best so as not to collide with the town or with any home“He added. “There was a small space right next to the Seti River and the plane impacted the ground in that small space.”

Aircraft accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, often due to its remotely located runways and sudden weather changes that can create dangerous conditions.

Home to some of the most impressive mountains in the world, the Himalayan nation has some of the riskiest airports to navigate.

Lack of investment in new aircraft and poor regulation have also been blamed in the past.

In May 2022, a plane from Tara Air crashed in northern Nepal and killed 22 persons. four years earlier, 51 people died when a flight traveling from Bangladesh caught fire while landing in Kathmandu.

Chiranjibi Paudel, whose journalist brother Tribhuvan was on the crashed flight, said steps must be taken to improve aviation safety in Nepal.

“Airlines should be penalized and the government regulator should also be held accountable,” he told the BBC.

The European Union has banned Nepalese airlines from using its airspace over concerns about training and maintenance standards.

As the last of the day’s flights made its way to the domestic terminal at Kathmandu airport, an eerie calm reigned.

Just hours earlier, Yeti Airlines Flight 691 had taken off from here. The plane went down near the newly built Pokhara International Airport, which opened earlier this year.

People we spoke to at the Kathmandu airport told us they fly regularly and still feel safe after today’s news: taking short plane trips is a popular way for Nepal’s middle classes to travel across this nation from the Himalayas.

It’s unclear what caused today’s accident, but it’s not the first time the country has come together to mourn those lost in such a tragedy.

“I’m not afraid of flying,” said Ria, waiting for her bags to arrive, “but there needs to be better regulations and newer planes.”

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