A Yeti Airlines flight with 72 people on board crashed in Nepal on Sunday just seconds before it was due to land, the latest deadly air disaster in the Himalayan nation.
(Bloomberg) — A Yeti Airlines flight with 72 people on board crashed in Nepal on Sunday just seconds before it was due to land, the latest deadly air disaster in the Himalayan nation.
The plane was carrying 68 passengers and four crew, airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula said by phone. At least three people have been taken to hospital but their condition is unclear, he said. There were also infants on board.
The flight was en route to Pokhara from capital Kathmandu and crashed “10 to 20 seconds before landing,” Bartaula said. There was no distress call from the cockpit before the disaster, he said, adding the army, air force and airport authorities are aiding in the rescue mission.
There were 15 foreigners on board including those from India, France, Australia, Ireland, Russia and Korea, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said.
At least 40 people were killed, Reuters cited an aviation authority official as saying. The weather was clear when the twin-engine ATR-72 aircraft crashed, the report said.
Pokhara, in central Nepal, is a lakeside tourist mecca nestled below the Annapurna mountain range.
Flying is notoriously risky in Nepal, the picturesque Himalayan nation that’s a favorite with adventurous tourists, pilgrims and mountaineers. In May, a Tara Air plane carrying 22 people from Pokhara crashed in the mountains, killing all on board.
World’s Riskiest Place for Flying Averages One Disaster a Year
–With assistance from Subramaniam Sharma.
(Updates with comments from spokesman from first paragraph)
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