The Nepal Army said on Monday morning that they have not yet rescued anyone alive from the site of the Pokhara plane crash, ANI reported.
A Yeti Airlines aircraft with 72 persons on board had crashed in Pokhara on Sunday. In the evening, Nepal’s civil aviation authority confirmed the death of 68 persons
Search and rescue operations were delayed on Monday morning due to adverse weather conditions. “We haven’t rescued anyone alive from the crash site,” Nepal Army spokesperson Krishna Prasad Bhandari said.
On Monday, two black boxes were recovered from the aircraft, reported PTI citing unidentified Kathmandu airport officials. The search and rescue team also found the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.
The black box has been handed over to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Yeti Airlines spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula told the news agency.
The 72 persons on board the flight included five Indians. Four of them – Sonu Jaiswal, Anil Rajbhar, Abhishek Kushwaha and Vishal Sharma – hail from the Ghazipur district in Uttar Pradesh, PTI reported. The fifth Indian person has been identified as Sanjay Jaiswal.
Ghazipur District Magistrate Aryaka Akhaur said that the administration has contacted the families of the four persons. “Our sub-divisional magistrate and other officials are meeting them,” she said. “We are also in touch with the embassy.... We will do the needful after the recovery of bodies.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a tweet that his thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. “Pained by the tragic air crash in Nepal in which precious lives have been lost, including Indian nationals,” he said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath said that officials have been directed to co-ordinate with the foreign ministry to bring back the bodies of those who died.
Four Russian citizens, two from South Korea and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France were also on board the aircraft. The crash was Nepal’s deadliest aircraft accident in three decades.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal on Sunday set up a committee to investigate the accident. The government has also told authorities to carry out a technical inspection of all domestic flights following the crash.
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