2 People Still Missing After Nepal Plane Crash, 70 Confirmed Dead

Crowds gather as rescue teams work to retrieve bodies at the crash site of an aircraft carrying 72 people in Pokhara in western Nepal on Jan. 15, 2023. Bijay Neupane/Handout via Reuters

None of the passengers on board the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft that crashed in the city of Pokhara, Nepal, on Jan. 15 are likely to have survived, according to officials.

In a phone interview with The Washington Post, Tek Bahadur K.C., chief district officer of Kaski District—which has Pokhara as its district headquarters—said that authorities in the area were “trying to recover four bodies from the Seti River Gorge,” which is nearly 1,000 feet deep.

Two more bodies were recovered following that report, bringing the confirmed death toll to 70 people, Reuters reported.

The Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokhara was carrying 72 people, including the crew. The aircraft crashed into the river gorge, which is just over half a mile from the airport, 25 minutes into the 27-minute flight.

It was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members, Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. Five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one individual each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina, and France were among the foreigners.

Anju Khatiwada, the co-pilot of Sunday’s crashed aircraft, lost her husband Dipak Pokhrel in a similar crash in 2006, Reuters reported.

Rescue teams work to retrieve bodies at the crash site of an aircraft carrying 72 people in Pokhara in western Nepal on Jan. 15, 2023. Bijay Neupane/Handout via Reuters

Pilots May Have ‘Lost Control’

Data from flight tracking website flightradar24.com shows that the plane departed at 4:47 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time (11:47 p.m. EST) on Jan. 15. The 15-year-old twin-engine ATR 72 stopped transmitting its position at about 5:05 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time (12:05 a.m. EST) and sent its last signal minutes later at 5:12 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time (12:12 a.m. EST).

Video footage posted to social media and taken by an onlooker appears to show the plane flying low over Pokhara as it approaches the airport and then rolling to its side before the video pans away. A loud explosion and screams can then be heard.

The Epoch Times has been unable to independently verify the authenticity of the clip.

Officials do not yet know what caused the crash. However, searchers on Monday were able to find the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the plane, which could help investigators determine what prompted the crash, Reuters reported. The recorders were reportedly in good shape and will be sent for analysis.

Veteran airline consultant Neil Hansford told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that, based on reports, the crash may have been caused by “pilot-handling.”

“I think the pilots have lost control of the aircraft and that’s why it’s ended up on the edge of a ridge,” Hansford said. “Fuel is not an issue, because it burnt so readily, because there was obviously a lot of fuel on board.”

Hansford also noted that environmental conditions in Nepal, such as the rough terrain and high mountains—including Everest—which can prompt cloudy weather and hazardous conditions, are “hostile to aviation.”

“It requires a very high level of pilot skill, very good equipment and, unfortunately, a country underdeveloped like Nepal will always battle to have those factors in place,” he said.

View of the lakeside in Pokhara in western Nepal on Dec. 25, 2022 Katabella Roberts/The Epoch Times

View of the lakeside in Pokhara in western Nepal on Dec. 25, 2022 Katabella Roberts/The Epoch Times

Pilot Did Not Report Anything Untoward

Pokhara Airport spokesman Anup Joshi told the BBC on Monday that the “mountains were clear and visibility was good” at the time of the flight and that there was “no issue with the weather” and only a light wind.

Joshi also said that the pilot of the flight had not reported “anything untoward” as the plane approached the airport, but that minutes before the aircraft was set to land, the pilot asked for a change of runway—from runway 3 to runway 1—which the airport granted.

“We could operate from both runways. The plane was cleared for landing,” the Pokhara airport spokesman said.

Sunday’s crash marked the deadliest in Nepal since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed into a hillside while approaching Kathmandu, killing all 167 people on board.

Overall, nearly 350 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal since 2000. The European Union has banned Nepali airlines from its airspace since 2013 due to safety concerns.

Pokhara is located some 129 kilometers (80 miles) west of Kathmandu and serves as a popular tourist destination owing to its laid-back atmosphere, picturesque lakeside, numerous yoga retreats, and paragliding sites. It also serves as the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas.

The prime minister of Nepal has declared Monday a national day of mourning, and the government set up a five-member committee to investigate the cause of the crash.