Kathmandu: Five Indians are among the 72 people onboard a Nepalese passenger plane that crashed into a river gorge on Sunday while landing at the Pokhara airport and killed atleast 40 people onboard.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am and crashed at the Pokhara airport at around 11 am. Pokhara is a major tourist destination in the Himalayan nation.
Five Indians have been identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, Bishal Sharma, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, Sonu Jaiswal and Sanjaya Jaiswal, a Yeti Airlines official said.
The Indian Embassy also confirmed that five Indians were among the passengers.
"An ATR-72 plane of Yeti Airlines crashed today near the Pokhara Airport while flying from Kathmandu. According to the info provided by Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, 5 Indians were travelling on this flight. Rescue operations are underway," the Indian mission tweeted.
There were 15 foreigners among the 72 people on board the plane, Yeti Airlines said. They included five people from India, four Russians, two Koreans, and one person each from Australia, Argentina, Ireland and France, spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula said. Some of the passengers have been hospitalised, the airlines said. The condition of the Indian passengers is not known yet.
While landing at the Pokhara airport, the aircraft crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport.
There were a total of 68 passengers and four crew members, Republica newspaper reported. At least 32 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage site, The Himalayan Times newspaper reported.
