A plane carrying 72 people crashed into a river gorge in central Nepal on Sunday, killing at least 29, according to a spokesman for the Nepalese army.
The Yeti Airlines aircraft went down in the gorge of the Seti River about a mile away from Pokhara International Airport, according to Brig. Gen. Krishna Prasad Bhandari, the army spokesman. Photos and TV footage showed black plumes of smoke and fire at the site, with crowds swarming around the wreckage.
Mr. Bhandari said as of early Sunday afternoon the rescue team had retrieved the bodies of 29 passengers and is looking for others in the wreckage. There were 68 passengers and four crew members aboard.
“We are facing difficulties in the rescue operation because the plane has crashed into the river’s gorge,” Mr. Bhandari said, adding: “We don’t know the cause of the crash yet.”
According to the Yeti Airlines website, its plane with flight number YT-691 took off from Kathmandu at 10:33 a.m. local time for what is usually about a 30-minute journey.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the plane was flying to Pokhara from the capital of Kathmandu, and urged rescue personnel and the public to help with rescue efforts. He called an emergency cabinet meeting in the aftermath of the crash. WSJ