Hopes are fading for survivors of Nepal’s worst air disaster in decades, police say.
“It is unlikely that there will be any survivors,” Tech spokesman Prasad Roy told JEE News. He added that teams are searching for body parts from the spot.
At least 68 people were killed when a flight from Kathmandu to the tourist city of Pokhara crashed and caught fire on Sunday morning.
It is not yet clear what caused the accident.
Mobile phone footage shows the Yeti Airlines flight spinning rapidly as it approaches the airport. It then crashed into the ground in the Siti River Gorge, just one kilometer from the airport.
The flight was carrying 72 passengers and crew.
About 300 rescue workers resumed the search on Monday, sifting through the charred wreckage.
Nepal’s prime minister has declared Monday a national day of mourning, and the government has set up a panel to investigate the cause of the disaster.
Local resident Divya Dhakal told JEE News how she arrived at the crash site shortly after 11:00 a.m. local time (05:15 GMT) to see the plane falling from the sky.
“When I reached there, the accident site was already crowded,” she said. Big smoke was rising from the flames of the ship. And then the helicopters came up in no time.
“The pilot did his best not to hit civilization or any houses,” he added. “There was a small area right next to the Seti River and the flight hit the ground in that small area.”
Aviation accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, often due to its remote runways and sudden changes in weather that can lead to dangerous conditions.
This Himalayan nation, home to some of the most breath-taking mountains in the world, has some of the most challenging terrain to navigate.
Lack of investment in new aircraft and poor regulation have also been blamed in the past.
The European Union has banned Nepalese airlines from its airspace over concerns about training and maintenance standards.
In May 2022, a Tara Air plane crashed in northern Nepal, killing 22 people. Four years ago, a flight from Bangladesh caught fire on landing in Kathmandu, killing 51 people.
Chiranjeevi Padil, whose journalist brother Tribhuvan was on the flight, said action must be taken to improve aviation safety in Nepal.
“The airlines should be fined and the government’s regulatory body should also be held accountable,” he said.
The plane came down near the newly constructed Pokhara International Airport, which had only opened at the beginning of the year.
Passengers at the airport told JEE News they fly regularly and still feel safe after today’s news – short-haul flights are a popular way for Nepal’s middle class to travel around the country.
“I’m not afraid of flying,” said Rhea, who was waiting for her bag to arrive, “but there needs to be better regulations and new planes.”
A Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to the tourist city of Pokhara departed the Nepalese capital after 10:30 (04:45 GMT) on what should have been a short journey.
It was carrying 68 passengers, including at least 15 foreign nationals and four crew members.
Of the passengers, 53 are said to be Nepalis. Five Indians, four Russians and two Koreans were on board the plane. There were also one passenger each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.
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 left and right, and then all of a sudden the nose went down and it went down into the canyon.”
