Black boxes, 69th body found; 3 missing

On Jan 16, 2023

Rescue teams sifting through the debris from a plane crash in a Nepal gorge on Monday uncovered the data and cockpit voice recorders and the remains of a 69th victim, authorities said.

The cause of Sunday’s crash near the tourist town of Pokhara remains under investigation. The flight included 68 passengers and a crew of four. The search for the three missing people continued Monday.

“We pray for a miracle,” local official Tek Bahadur KC told Agence France-Presse. “But the hope of finding anyone alive is nil.”

At least 41 of the victims had been identified, but authorities said many bodies in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster since 1992 were burned beyond recognition. A team of forensic experts has reached Pokhara from Kathmandu to complete the identifications, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said.

The agency said authorities have begun returning remains to the families, who are pressing for the process to be accelerated so they can hold funerals for their loved ones.

Details on crash emerge:

►Authorities temporarily closed Pokhara International Airport, which was newly built and had been operating for only two weeks before the crash occurred less than a minute’s flight from the airport.

►Local officials had expressed concern that the number of birds in the area – because of the habitat provided by two rivers as well as a nearby landfill – could create a hazard for the new airport.

VICTIMS BURNED BEYOND RECOGNITION:Search for the missing in Nepal crash underway

How did the crash unfold?

Yeti Airlines Flight NYT691 crashed near the resort town of Pokhara at about 10:50 a.m. local time as it approached the airport, the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority said. The plane was completing a 27-minute flight from Kathmandu. Prem Nath Thakur, general manager of the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, said the plane had been granted landing clearance. The weather was clear, there was very little wind, and the pilots reported no technical issues, he said.

Video taken by passenger Sonu Jaiswal, which was verified by The Associated Press, shows buildings, roads and greenery as the plane approaches the airport, followed by a violent jolt and a series of jerky images accompanied by yelling before flames fill the screen.

‘Like a bomb went off,’ then fire

Brig. Gen. Krishna Prasad Bhandari, an army spokesperson, told China’s state-run Xinhua news agency that many bodies were burned beyond recognition and that 80% of the plane had been gutted by fire.

Bikash Jaiswal said he could only identify his wife’s brother – Sanjay Jaiswal – by the ring he wore, and that he had yet to tell his wife, who just gave birth to their daughter. Sanjay was flying to Pokhara for the birth.

“He was a hardworking person, and now there’s no one left in his family to earn,” Bikash said.

Local resident Arun Tamu, 44, was about 500 yards away and live-streamed some of the blazing wreckage on social media.

“I was walking when I heard a loud blast, like a bomb went off,” the former soldier told AFP. “A few of us rushed to see if we can rescue anybody. I saw at least two women were breathing. The fire was getting very intense and it made it difficult for us to approach.”

What caused the plane crash in Nepal?

Dramatic video shot on a smartphone from the ground shows the last moments before the plane crashed. The aircraft’s nose is noticeably high before the left wing suddenly drops and the plane falls out of sight of the video, indicating a likely stall, said Amit Singh, an experienced pilot and founder of India’s Safety Matters Foundation.