Spokesman Report
Islamabad: A passenger plane, ATR-72, carrying 72 people onboard, crashed in Nepal’s Pokhara on Sunday. The flight was en route from Kathmandu to Pokhara. The plane took off from Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am today. It reportedly crashed ten seconds before landing at the airport and everyone onboard is reported to be dead.
The aircraft crashed into forested land located on the banks of the Seti Gandaki river that flows between the old domestic airport and Pokhra International Airport.
The plane caught fire as it crashed and rescue workers were trying to put it off. The passenger manifest shows 11 of the passengers onboard were international visitors and three of them were infants.
“53 Nepalis, five Indians, four Russians, one Irish national, two Koreans, one Argentinian and a French national were on board at the time of the mishap,” Airport authority officials said.
The government has called an emergency meeting of the cabinet, following the passenger aircraft crash at Pokhara Airport.
“It was an ATR 72 plane turbo crop with a maximum speed of 500 kmph. They are made to fly at low altitudes, and the Yeti airlines use mostly old planes,” said sources in the Nepal aviation authority, further adding that the matter will be probed.
As many as 68 passengers and four crew members were onboard the Yeti airlines aircraft that crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport .
| Pakistan Offers Condolences over the Loss of Lives in the Air Crash in Nepal
The Government and people of Pakistan offer their deepest condolences over the loss of precious lives in the air crash in Pokhra, Nepal. We are saddened at this tragic accident and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims.We stand with the people of Nepal in their hour of grief. In a message ,President Dr Arif Alvi has expressed his deepest condolences over the sad loss of precious lives in an air crash in Pokhra, Nepal.The President conveyed his prayers for the families of the victims who lost their lives in the tragic incident and prayed to Allah Almighty to grant them the strength and the courage to bear this loss with patience and fortitude. The President in his message said that “at this moment of most profound grief, our thoughts and prayers are with the affected families and grieving people of Nepal”. |