At least 44 people have been killed after an aircraft crashed today near an airport in central Nepal.
The Yeti Airlines flight had 72 people on board; 68 passengers and 4 crew and was en route from Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokhara crashing on landing before catching fire.
“The plane has broken into pieces. We expect to recover more bodies,” said an army spokesperson, Krishna Bhandari.
Fifty-three of the total passengers are said to be Nepalese. There were also five Indian, four Russians and two Koreans on the plane and one passenger each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France among others.
According to local official Gurudutta Dhakal, the wreckage was on fire and rescue workers were trying to put out the blaze.
“Responders have already reached there and trying to douse the fire. All agencies are now focused on first dousing the fire and rescuing the passengers,” he said.
After news of the crash broke, the country’s prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, called an emergency cabinet meeting.
Aircraft operators say Nepal lacks infrastructure for accurate weather forecasts, especially in remote areas with challenging mountainous terrain where deadly crashes have taken place in the past.