FIERY DEATH CRASH
68 killed as jet tilts and slams into Nepal gorge
An airliner crashed in Nepal on Sunday morning, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard.
Video footage of the immediate aftermath shows the plane engulfed in flames, and black smoke billowing above the wreckage, as rescue workers recovered bodies from a gorge the Yeti Airlines, French-made ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop crashed into while attempting to land at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara.
The images showed scores of rescue workers, Nepali soldiers and onlookers gathered at the site of the crash, which is the Himalayan country’s deadliest air accident in three decades.
Video from inside
A video taken by a passenger captured the last seconds before the plunge. It shows the plane tilt to the left and then erupt in flames as it crashes.
The footage, obtained by TMZ, shows an unidentified man — reportedly taping as part of a Facebook Live post — sitting in a window seat. He then flips the camera from his face to show the cabin and passengers in front of him.
As he changes the view, the plane suddenly banks to the side, causing some passengers to shriek. The audio then muffles, with video showing a dark, red sky from outside the plane.
Flames can be seen through the plane’s window and quickly take up the entire view until the video ends. It’s unclear if the man survived.
Other clips taken from the ground and posted on Twitter show the plane flying at a dangerously low altitude over a residential area, then turn sharply left before a loud explosion.
Yeti confirmed there were 68 passengers and four crew people aboard. Among the passengers were 15 foreign nationals, including one Australian, one French, one Argentinian, four Russians, five Indians, two South Koreans and one person from Ireland. Two of the passengers were infants, the Kathmandu Post reported.
Bishnu Tiwari, who lives near the crash site, rushed to help search for survivors. Thick smoke and flames that engulfed the aircraft hampered rescue efforts, he said.
“The flames were so hot that we couldn’t go near the wreckage. I heard a man crying for help, but because of the flames and smoke, we couldn’t help him,” Tiwari said.
Panel will investigate
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the plane was flying from the capital, Kathmandu.
Dahal, who rushed to the airport after the crash, has set up a panel to investigate the accident’s cause.
“The incident was tragic. The full force of the Nepali army, police has been deployed for rescue,” he said.
Weather can change suddenly in Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, making air travel hazardous.
The crash is Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when all 167 passengers aboard a Pakistan International Airlines jet were killed when it crashed into a hill.