On Sunday, a plane with 72 passengers crashed in the city of Pokhara in Nepal. The plane is on fire, and so far no survivors have been found.
A plane with 72 people is grounded in Nepal, the news agency Reuters reports at 07.15.
Reuters reports that at least 40 people have died, according to aviation authorities in Nepal.
– We expect to retrieve more bodies. The plane is broken into pieces, a spokesperson told Reuters.
– Don’t know yet if anyone has survived
The plane, which is said to have belonged to the company Yeti Airlines, is said to have crashed on Sunday between the old and new airports in Pokhara in central Nepal. This after taking off from Kathmandu, around 140 kilometers southeast of Pokhara.
The weather is said to have been clear, and rescue operations are currently underway.
– We do not yet know if anyone has survived, says spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula.
Four of the 72 passengers are cabin crew, melder AP News.
Television images showed thick, black smoke rising from the crash site, while rescue workers and people gathered around the wreckage, writes Reuters.
A policeman tells the online newspaper Lokantar that only one wing of the plane is intact.
– The fire is still going on. No one is saved. We are trying to put out the fire, he says.
A spokesperson from the airline says that ten of the 72 people on board were from abroad.
However, Reuters reports 15 foreigners, including five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, an Irishman, an Australian, a Frenchman and an Argentinian.
Ban on Nepalese airlines
Nepal’s aviation industry has long struggled with poor safety, and the EU has banned flights from Nepali airlines in its airspace.
Last year 22 people died when a plane crashed into a mountainside in Nepal. In 2018, 49 people died during crash landings in Kathmandu.
Lack of training and maintenance of the planes are among the reasons for the poor safety. The many plane accidents are also due to the fact that the weather conditions in the country can change very quickly.
