Nepal plane crash: The black box of the Yeti Airlines plane that crashed on Sunday with 72 onboard including 5 Indians near Pokhara International Airport, has been found, informed Sher Bath Thakur, an airport official in Kathmandu. Nepalese rescuers resumed their search on Monday for the four persons who are still missing. The plane had crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in the resort city of Pokhara, killing at least 68 people onboard. The tragedy is being seen as the Himalayan nation's deadliest aviation accident in over 30 years.
- Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport minutes before landing, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
- Assistant Chief District Officer (CDO) of Kaski Anil Shahi said that the bodies that have been identified will be handed over to the respective families after completing due procedures, the report added.
- Assistant CDO Shahi said that the remaining bodies could not be pulled out of the gorge due to the difficult topography of the crash site. The rescue work in the Seti gorge was withheld due to geographical constraints last night and has resumed this morning, Shahi said.
- According to Tek Bahadur KC, Kaski Chief District Officer, security personnel from the Nepal Army, the Armed Police Force and the Nepal Police and locals are attempting to pull out the bodies, The Kathmandu Post reported.
- The five Indians, all reportedly from Uttar Pradesh, have been identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, 25, Bishal Sharma, 22, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, 27, Sonu Jaiswal, 35, and Sanjaya Jaiswal. Of the five Indians, four were planning to participate in paragliding activities in the tourist hub of Pokhara, a local resident who travelled with them to Nepal, said.
- The runway of Pokhara International Airport is 45 metres wide and 2,500 metres long, and its designation is 12-30. The ill-fated plane commanded by Captain Kamal KC, an instructor pilot, made the first contact with the Pokhara control tower from nearly 110 kilometres away.
- "At 10:32 am, the plane took off from Kathmandu. It was scheduled to land at Pokhara at 10:58 am. Was in continuous contact with Pokhara Tower. The landing clearance of that plane had also been obtained. The weather was also fine. Everything was fine then how the accident happened is a matter of investigation," said Premnath Thakur, General Manager, Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu.
- "A high-level investigation team has been formed. Any conclusion can be drawn by checking its voice recorder and other circumstances," Thakur said. The flight captain later asked for permission to switch to Runway 12 which is the western end.
- “We were not sure why. Permission was granted, and accordingly, the aircraft started its descent,” said Joshi who is also a senior air traffic controller. The government has formed a five-member probe committee to investigate the crash.
- The probe panel headed by former aviation secretary Nagendra Ghimire has been asked to investigate the accident and submit its report within 45 days, said government Spokesperson and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel on Sunday.
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