KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A 72-seat Nepali passenger plane crashed into a ravine Sunday as it landed at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara, killing at least 32 people, an official said.
Rescuers were searching the crash site near the Seti River, which is nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Pokhara International Airport, and expected to find more bodies, said Tek Bahadur KC, a senior administrative official in Kaski district.
It was not immediately clear what caused the plane to crash.
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreigners and four crew members, the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. Foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to the airport after the crash, said the plane was flying from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara. He appealed to security personnel and the general public to help in the rescue efforts.
Images and videos shared on Twitter show plumes of smoke pouring from the crash site as rescue workers, Nepalese soldiers and crowds of people gather around the wrecked plane.
Pokhara, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular trekking route in the Himalayas. Pokhara International Airport became operational just two weeks ago.
Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a history of plane crashes.
Last year, 22 people died when a plane crashed into a mountain in Nepal. In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed while landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people on board.
In 1992, all 167 people on board a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it plunged over a hill while trying to land in Kathmandu.
Saaliq reported from New Delhi.
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