On Sunday morning a plane that was heading to Nepal from Mumbai, India crashed. The plane was a part of Yeti Airlines, and was a two-engine ATR 72 aircraft. The plane took off early Sunday morning from Kathmandu, and crashed around 11 A.M. local time in Pokhara – a town in the center of Nepal. 68 of the 72 known passengers have been found dead, which is now recorded as Nepal’s deadliest plane crash. 

Nepal’s prime minister of three weeks convened an emergency Cabinet meeting. He then traveled to Pokhara’s airport to conduct immediate relief operations. His government has declared Monday a mourning day. 

The Himalayan country has a “spotty safety record, and plane crashes – especially of the twin-engine propeller planes like this one – are sadly not uncommon.” Stated NPR News. Most crashes in Nepal are due to the many tall mountains and weather changes, but many reported that Sunday had clear weather. 

A cell phone video taken by a passenger on the plane had shown the distressful final moments of the flight. Indian national Sonu Jaiswal who was traveling with three friends “seemed happy and calm” as he pointed his phone camera out the window and around the cabin. Soon after a sudden jolt, the camera became unsteady. Within seconds smoke appears in the camera’s view. In the video you can hear people scream and see flames. Due to many videos recovered from phones it is confirmed that there was no indication of a warning before the crash. 

The cause of the crash has still not been found. What is now known is the pilot never reported anything going wrong with the plane, and passenger’s videos of flying that were recovered from their phones had shown everything seemed to be going well. Stay tuned for more information.  

Cites 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64284366

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/15/1149322420/a-passenger-plane-with-72-people-on-board-has-crashed-in-nepal-killing-dozens

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/nepal-plane-crash-passenger-video-final-moments/#app

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