Nepal plane crash with 72 onboard leaves at least 40 dead
At least 40 people were killed when an aircraft crashed in Nepal on Sunday, a Nepal army spokesman said, as hundreds of rescue workers scoured the hillside crash site.
A Yeti Airlines spokesman, Sudarshan Bartaula, said there were 72 people onboard- 68 passengers and four crew. According to an airport official, foreign nationals from Australia, France, Argentina, India, Russia, Ireland, China and South Korea were among the passengers.
'Rescue is under way, we do not know right now if there are survivor,' Bartaula said.
The plane crashed between the old and new Pokhara airports in central Nepal.
The wreckage was on fire and rescue workers were trying to put out the blaze, said local official Gurudutta Dhakal.
'Responders have already reached there and trying to douse the fire. All agencies are now focused on first dousing the fire and rescuing the passengers,' Dhakal said.
Nepal's air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.
But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance. The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.
The Himalayan country also has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.
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