On 15 January, a Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 (registered 9N-ANC) operated domestic flight YT691 between Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal. The aircraft carried 68 passengers and 4 crew members. While landing at Pokhara, the flight crashed on the bank of the Seti River. The accident resulted in the deaths of all passengers and crew members. It is Nepal’s worst air crash since the crash of Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268 in 1992.
While Pokhara Airport was closed after the crash, a rescue operation was launched. A difficult task as the crash site was difficult to reach.
The Government of Nepal summoned an emergency meeting. Indian aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia offered condolences.
Early reports indicated that some passengers and crew members survived the crash, but the Nepalese government has confirmed that nobody survived.
According to the passenger manifest, the four crew members and fifty-three passengers were Nepalese. Five Indian, four Russians, two Koreans, an Australian, Argentinian, French and Irish were among the victims.
The following videos appeared on social media, viewers discretion advised:
A video reportedly to be the final moments before the accident shows the aircraft banking and then rolling towards the ground. pic.twitter.com/f1pSXmrOVH
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) January 15, 2023
The aircraft crashed into forested land located on the banks of the Seti Gandaki river that flows between the old domestic airport and Pokhra International Airport. As many as 36 bodies have been pulled from the crash site so far. https://t.co/xVoH4NKH67 pic.twitter.com/a4JA7ki5Lm
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) January 15, 2023
????? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ???? #pushpakamaldahal ????? ??? ?? ?? 32 ????? ?? ??? ???,???????? ?????? ?????#Nepal #AirCrash #yatiairlines pic.twitter.com/WqjURzeoRG
— Manchh (@Manchh_Official) January 15, 2023
— Yeti Airlines (@FlyYeti) January 15, 2023
A video where one of the passengers filmed the approach inside the Yeti Airlines aircraft and placed it on Facebook live has appeared on social media:
The last moment of #NepalPlaneCrash.#NepalPlaneCrashVideo #Nepal #ViralVideos pic.twitter.com/Y77YxOKL3B
— Vivek Gupta (@imvivekgupta) January 15, 2023
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