Guwahati: The Nepalese Civil Aviation Authority on Sunday announced that 29 of the passengers on board the Yeti Airlines ATR-72 plane, which had crashed somewhere between the old Pokhara airport and the Pokhara International Airport, had passed away.
There were four crew members and 68 passengers on the Kathmandu-Pokhara flight, including five Indians.
The Indian embassy in Kathmandu tweeted that a rescue operation was in progress for the injured.
The embassy further informed that it was in contact with the local authorities.
“We are deeply saddened by the crash of a plane carrying 72 passengers and crew members, including some Indians in Pokhara. We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with all those affected by this tragedy,” Shankar P Sharma, the Indian ambassador to Nepal, tweeted.
Meanwhile, the Nepali government called an urgent meeting of the airport officials in response to the jet disaster.
Diwakar Sharma: +977-9851107021 for Kathmandu, and Lt Col Shashank Tripathi: +977-9856037699 for the Pokhara region are the India embassy helplines that can assist the family members of the deceased Indian travellers.
Social media posts of the incident’s images and videos showed smoke plumes rising from the collision scene.
The Home Ministry, security troops, and all other government agencies were ordered to conduct prompt rescue and relief activities by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also condoled the loss of lives in the Nepal aircrash, tweeting, “The loss of lives in a tragic plane crash in Nepal is extremely unfortunate. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the bereaved. Om Shanti.”