The Nepal Weekly 
January 17, 2023
Altogether 69 bodies of people who died in the Yeti Airlines crash in Pokhara have so far been recovered, according to an official at Yeti Airlines. There were 68 passengers including 15 foreigners and four crew members in the Yeti Airlines aircraft.
There were five Indians, 4 Russians, 2 Koreans, 1 Australian, 1 French, 1 Argentine and 1 Israeli passengers. There is no information about any survival so far, said Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson at Yeti Airlines.
The 9N ANC aircraft with 72 people including 4 crew members on board which took off from Kathmandu to Pokhara crashed in Seti gorge near the newly built airport in Pokhara. The aircraft took off at 10.25 and crashed at 11 am. The aircaft crashed while it was preparing to land at Pokhara airport.
Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police personnel and local people have been mobilized in rescue operations. The cause of the accident is not known yet. There may be human error and technical problem behind the air crash, experts believe.
“The weather in Pokhara was absolutely fine and the engine of the aircraft was also in good condition,” he said. “We dont know what has happened to the airplane.” However, some local media reported that the aircraft took a wider turning while attempting to land, which may have caused the accident. It was a new airport built under Chinese soft loan and inaugurated just two weeks ago. Nepal government has formed a five member probe committee to investigate into the accident.
Meanwhile, the black box of the aircraft was recovered from the accident site Monday afternoon, according to Yeti Airlines officials. Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal “Prachanda”, who was supposed to visit Pokhara for acquiring first hand information of the accident has cancelled the visit. PM’s aid said that he had canceled the visit as it might cause traffic jam at the airport, which might hamper rescue works there. This was the deadliest domestic airlines air crash in Nepal’s aviation history.
