More than 60 people died this Sunday in a plane crash in Nepal, in the worst catastrophe of its kind in that nation in three decades.
The plane, from the Nepalese airline Yeti Airline, crashed in the Pokhara district, some 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, while trying to land, according to international media reports.
The aircraft, an ATR-72, had 68 passengers on board, including several children, and four crew members, the agency said. EFE.
Several foreigners were traveling on the flight, including an Argentine, as well as five citizens of India, four Russians, two Koreans, an Australian, an Irishman and a Frenchman, according to the airline’s spokesman, Sudarshan Bardaula, quoted by the AFP.
“The aircraft crashed in a ravine, so it is difficult to remove the bodies. The search and rescue operation continues. So far no survivors have been found,” Krishna Prasad Bhandari, a spokesman for the Nepalese army, told the French outlet.
The spokesman himself stated that “the plane has been broken into pieces.”
In addition, the news dispatches point out that after the accident the plane caught fire and the rescuers had to put out the fire among the remains of the device.
The reports so far place the number of confirmed deaths between 67 and 68. After hours of work, in which dozens of corpses were recovered, the emergency services withdrew at dusk and the tasks at the accident site will resume this Monday , refers The country.
Pokhara airport serves as a connection for travelers heading to the town of Jomsom, located in the heart of the Himalayas, a popular destination among foreign tourists visiting the Annapurna peak (8,091 meters) or the Mustang region, as well as pilgrims Hindus.
Nepal, with frequent air accidents, has been subject to repeated international sanctions for the lack of controls, says EFE, adding that the European Union has banned Nepali airlines from accessing its territory since 2013.
The previous most serious air accident in recent years in Nepal occurred in March 2018. On that occasion, a Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla plane from Dhaka crashed during landing maneuver at Kathmandu International Airport with 67 passengers and four crew members on board, leaving fifty deaths.
(With agency information)
