Plane crash in Nepal kills 69

At least 69 bodies have been recovered from the site near Pokhara International Airport in Nepal after a plane carrying 72 people crashed on Sunday, officials have said.

The plane was carrying 68 passengers, including three infants, and four crew members, a spokesperson Yeti airline said.

Five of the passengers were Indian, four Russian and two South Korean, while there was one passenger each from Ireland, Australia, France and Argentina in Nepal’s deadliest air crash since 1992, the Aviation Safety Network database showed.

“We expect to recover more bodies,” army spokesman Krishna Bhandari said. “The plane has broken into pieces.”

Footage on social media showed the plane flying low before beginning to spin, while video on local media showed smoke coming from the crash site as rescue workers and crowds gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft. The plane broke into pieces as it hit the ground, an official said.

Nepal’s Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, called an emergency cabinet meeting and urged security personnel and local people to help with rescue efforts.

According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, the plane was 15 years old and equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data. The twin-engine ATR 72 operated by Yeti Airlines was en route from Kathmandu, an airport official said.

Yeti Airlines announced all regular flights tomorrow would be cancelled “in mourning for the passengers who lost their lives”.