Nepal Plane crash: The death count has reached 68

Key Takeaways:

• According to official confirmation, there have been 68 fatalities in the Nepal plane crash, making it the worst in the previous three decades.
• According to the Nepalese Civil Aviation Authority, the four crew members and about 68 passengers, including 15 foreigners, boarded the aircraft.
• Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal established the accident investigation panel, and it will deliver its report in 45 days.

The Nepal plane crash death count has reached 68, confirmed officially; this plane crash has been marked as the worst in the last three decades. Before ending the day’s search operation, officials claimed they had found the remains of 68 people aboard a Yeti Airlines-operated 72-seater aircraft. 

The aircraft ATR 72 was heading from Kathmandu to Pokhara. While attempting to land at a recently opened airport, the twin-engine ATR 72 plane crashed as it travelled from Kathmandu to Pokhara, a popular tourist destination 200 kilometres to the west.

Around 68 passengers were boarding the plane with 15 foreign passengers along with the four plane crew members, confirms Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority. 

5 Indians, 4 Russians, 2 South Koreans, one for each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina, and France, were among the foreigners. 

Four of the five Indians travelled to Nepal on January 13 for vacation from the Uttar Pradesh district of Ghazipur.

Here are some recent updates on the Nepal Plane crash:

As per Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority, the weather had been clear, and it was not immediately clear what had caused the crash.

As per the Associated Press, at least one witness claimed to have heard cries for help coming from inside the burning wreck. The rescue efforts were hampered, according to Bishnu Tiwari, a local who ran to the crash site to help look for bodies.

We were incompetent to approach the wreckage because the flames were so intense. Tiwari said that the flames and smoke prevented us from assisting the man I overheard pleading for help.

Another witness claimed that as the aircraft approached the airport for landing, it began to spin erratically in the air. 

The witness saw the plane crash into the gorge while watching from the terrace of his home. The plane crashed nose-first towards its left.

One of the Indians who perished in the collision may have been watching Facebook Live just before it happened. The man can be seen holding the phone and pointing the camera out from a window seat in a 1-minute, 37-second video that went viral late on Sunday. The video shows an approach.

The shot becomes shaky at one point, and the vision briefly disappears before the last few frames reveal what appears to be a flame with some nearby vegetation.

Identification of Indians onboard

Sonu Jaiswal (35), Vishal Sharma (22), Anil Kumar Rajbhar (27), Abhishek Kushwaha (27) and Sanjay Jaiswal (26) from Sitamarhi, Bihar, were listed as the Indians on board. They are all friends and residents of Ghazipur. Sonu Jaiswal may have been on Facebook Live just before the collision, according to the police.

All flights cancelled by Yeti Airlines

In the meantime, Yeti Airlines has cancelled all regular flights for Monday in honour of the plane crash victims.

PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal on the plane crash 

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal established the accident investigation panel, and it will submit its report in 45 days. 

BEA, France’s air accident investigation agency, announced that it would collaborate with all other parties and take part in the investigation into the crash’s causes.

The European Union has prohibited Nepali airlines from using its airspace since 2013, citing safety concerns due to the country’s history of plane crashes.