The hope of finding survivors in the aftermath of the plane crash in Nepal with 72 people on board is now “null”, according to local authorities on Monday, declared a national day of mourning.
Nepalese rescuers continued to search for bodies in the shredded carcass of the aircraft which crashed at the bottom of a 300-meter ravine between the old Pokhara airport built in 1958 and the new international terminal opened on January 1. .
Authorities said 69 bodies had been recovered so far, while autopsies of 24 bodies were ongoing.
The Yeti Airlines twin-engine ATR 72 from the capital Kathmandu with 72 people on board — 68 passengers and all four crew members — crashed around 11 a.m. local time on Sunday near the local airport. from Pokhara.
“We are praying for a miracle to happen. But the hope of finding someone alive is nil,” Tek Bahadur KC, head of the Taksi district where the plane crashed, said earlier on Monday.
It is the deadliest air accident since 1992 in Nepal, where a day of national mourning was declared on Monday.
“The pain” of loved ones
The cause of the accident was not yet known, but a video posted on social networks – verified by an AFP partner – shows the twin-engine vehicle veering sharply to the left on approach to Pokhara airport, leaving hear a loud explosion.
Greg Waldon, an aviation expert, told AFP that watching the video, the plane seemed to him to be in a “wing stall”, meaning that one of the wings was not supporting suddenly no longer charging the device.
Debris from the airliner was strewn across the crash site, including the remains of passenger seats and the plane’s white fuselage.
Raj Dhungana, uncle of Sangita Shahi, 23, one of the 69 victims, spoke of the “pain” of the whole family in front of a hospital in Pokhara.
“My niece was very talented. She was also an excellent student. She continued her studies in Kathmandu […]. God took away such a kind being,” he told AFP.
“Incredibly sad”
According to Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesman for Yeti Airlines, 15 foreigners were on board the plane: five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans as well as four passengers from Argentina, Australia, France and the United States respectively. ‘Ireland. The others were Nepalese.
“Incredibly sad news from Nepal of a plane that crashed with many passengers on board,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday.
ATR, the manufacturer of the device, specified in a statement that it was an ATR 72-500, assuring that its specialists were “fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer”, Yeti Airlines.
It was not specified whether the accident resulted in casualties on the ground.
Nepalese civil aviation, essential for supplying the remote regions of the country and transporting hikers and mountaineers there, has experienced a real boom in recent years.
The European Union has banned all Nepalese carriers from accessing its airspace for security reasons.
This country has some of the most isolated tracks in the world, flanked by soaring peaks, the approach to which poses a challenge even for seasoned pilots.
A difficult climate
The weather also changes rapidly in the mountains, creating even more challenging flying conditions.
In May, the crash of a twin-engine Twin Otter from the Nepalese company Tara Air killed 22 shortly after takeoff from Pokhara. The wreckage was found a day later, on the side of a mountain about 4400 meters above sea level.
Following this tragedy, the authorities tightened the regulations, in particular so that the planes are only allowed to fly if the weather forecast is favorable throughout the journey.
The deadliest air disaster in Nepal’s history took place in September 1992. All 167 occupants of a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 perished when the plane crashed on approach to Kathmandu.