A plane with 72 people on board crashed in Nepal on Sunday, Yeti Airlines and a local official said.
“There are 68 passengers and four crew members on board… the rescue is going on, we don’t know yet if there are any survivors,” airline spokesman Sudarshan Bertola told JEE News.
He said the plane crashed between the old and new Pokhara airports in central Nepal.
Local official Gurdatta Dhakal said the wreckage was on fire and rescue workers were trying to put out the fire.
Responders are already there and trying to put out the fire. All agencies are now concentrating on putting out the fire and rescuing the passengers,” said Dhakal.
Nepal’s aerial industry has boomed in recent years, transporting goods and people to remote areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.
But it suffers from poor safety due to inadequate training and maintenance.
The European Union has banned all Nepalese aircraft from its airspace due to security concerns.
The Himalayan country also has some of the most remote and difficult runways in the world, covered with snow-capped peaks that pose a challenge to even the most accomplished pilots.
Aircraft operators say Nepal lacks infrastructure for accurate weather forecasting, especially in remote areas where there have been fatal accidents in the past.
Weather in the mountains can also change rapidly, creating dangerous flying conditions.
In May 2022, a plane operated by Nepalese carrier Tara Air killed all 22 people on board – 16 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans – when it crashed.
Air traffic control lost contact with the twin-propeller Twin Otter as it took off from Pokhara and headed for Jomsom, a popular trekking destination.
His wreckage was found a day later, scattered on a mountainside at an elevation of about 14,500 feet (4,400 m).
About 60 people were involved in the search mission, most of whom hiked for miles to get there.
After the accident, authorities tightened regulations, including that planes would only be cleared for flight if the weather forecast was favorable for the entire route.
In March 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crashed near Kathmandu’s notoriously difficult international airport, killing 51 people.
The crash was Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines flight killed all 167 people on board when it crashed near Kathmandu.
Just two months ago, a Thai Airways plane crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.
