By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least 32 passengers were on Sunday confirmed dead after a 72-seat Nepali passenger aircraft crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the central resort town of Pokhara, an official announced.
The cause of the crash could not be immediately ascertained but rescue workers have commenced operations at the crash site near the Seti River, which is nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) away from Pokhara International Airport, where more bodies were being recovered, said Tek Bahadur K. C., a senior administrative officer in the Kaski district.
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members, Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.
The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.
Pokhara International Airport began operations only two weeks ago.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to the airport after the crash, said the plane was flying from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara. He urged security personnel and the general public to help with the rescue efforts.
Pokhara, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas.
Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has a history of air crashes.
Last year, 22 people died when a plane crashed on a mountainside in Nepal. In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people aboard.
