Nepal declares national mourning on Monday over plane crash tragedy

Story by IANS | Posted by Tripti Nath | Date 15-01-2023

Locals watch the wreckage of a passenger plane in Pokhara, Nepal on Sunday

Kathmandu

The Nepal government has announced a national mourning on Monday over a plane crash in Nepal's Kaski district that claimed 35 lives.

The Cabinet has announced a public holiday on Monday to mourn the national tragedy, Deputy Prime Minister Bishnu Poudel said.

Rescuers have so far pulled out 35 bodies from a Yeti Airlines crash site in Pokhara. The government has also formed a five-member team to investigate the plane crash, in which most of the passengers are presumed dead.

An ATR 72 aircraft of Yeti Airlines with a call sign 9N-ANC that took off to Pokhara from Kathmandu at 10.32 a.m. crashed at Nayagaun of the city this

morning.

The ill-fated plane caught fire while it was about to land at newly-built Pokhara airport built with Chinese assistance.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal also left for Pokhara on Sunday evening to asses the search and rescue operation.

Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Rudra Thapa confirmed with the Kathmandu Post that 25 bodies have been taken to different hospitals in Pokhara for

post-mortem. Thapa said the police came to know about the crash at around 11 a.m.

Police Inspector Gyan Bahadur Khadka at Kaski District Police Office said the rescue operation is underway in a full-swing.

The aircraft contacted the control tower at 10.50 a.m. before it went off the radar.

A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraft that crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport, Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson of Yeti Airlines, said.