Nepal plane crash Live updates: Bodies of 68 passengers out of 72 recovered, rescue ops halted for today
Rescuers inspect the site of the plane crash in Pokhara on January 15, 2023. An aircraft with 72 people on board crashed in Nepal on January 15, Yeti Airlines and a local official said. Photograph: (AFP)
At least 68 people were killed after a passenger airplane with 72 people on board crashed near Pokhara International Airport in Nepal on Sunday. The officially declared death toll stands at 29 currently.Key Updates
15 Jan 2023, 10:00 PM (IST)
As search efforts ended for the day, 68 people were confirmed dead after a regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara Sunday, according to Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority. It's the country’s deadliest airplane accident in three decades. Scores of rescue workers and onlookers crowded near a steep gorge hours after dark Sunday, as rescuers combed the wreckage on the edge of the cliff and in the ravine below.
15 Jan 2023, 8:36 PM (IST)
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has expressed deep sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives in the plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal
In this difficult and sad time, our sympathies and prayers are with the Government of Nepal, the affected families and the people of Nepal: The PM
May Allah grant the bereaved the courage to endure this trauma with patience and perseverance
15 Jan 2023, 4:40 PM (IST)
Relatives arrived at Kathmandu airport for information after a 72-seat Nepali passenger aircraft crashed into a gorge while landing at an airport in Pokhara on Sunday, killing at least 68 people. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who also 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.
15 Jan 2023, 4:34 PM (IST)
The Pokhara International Airport, which witnessed the fatal crash of a Nepalese passenger plane with 72 people onboard on Sunday, was inaugurated two weeks ago by Nepal's newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda' and built with Chinese assistance, PTI news agency reported.
Built in the backdrop of the pristine Annapurna Mountain Range, the airport was officially inaugurated on January 1, 2023. The flagship project was part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation.