Plane crash in Nepal kills at least 68 of the 72 on board

ATR 72 turboprop came down on approach to Pokhara after taking off from Kathmandu,

- Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

At least 68 people are now known to have died after an aircraft with 72 people on board crashed near Pokhara international airport in Nepal yesterday morning. The Yeti Airlines twinengine ATR 72 aircraft carrying 68 passengers and four crew

members departed from Kathmandu and crashed on approach to Pokhara airport.

The passengers included two infants and several foreign nationals, according to airline spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula. The aircraft crashed between the old airport and Pokhara international airport, the airline spokesperson told The Kathmandu Post.

Quoting an official from Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority CAA), it was reported later in the day that the death toll from the crash stood at 68. The aircraft made contact with the airport at 10.50am local time, Jagannath Niroula, a spokesperson for Nepal’s CAA, said in a statement. Then it crashed.” A fivemember panel has been set up to investigate the cause of the crash. The federal government has declared that today will be a day of national mourning.

Officials suspended the search for the four missing people overnight and planned to resume looking today.