There were 10 foreign nationals including 2 infants on board the aircraft.
New Delhi:
A video clip shot by a person with a phone camera has gone viral on social media claiming to show a Yeti airline plane moments before it crashed in Nepal’s Pokhara. Of the 72 people on board, at least 40 are confirmed dead. NDTV cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The video shows a plane flying down, tilting dangerously in the air just before a loud bang is heard in the background.
Several other videos shared on social media, which appeared to be right after the crash, showed flames on the ground and black smoke billowing into the sky from debris scattered at the crash site.
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Yeti Airlines was taking off from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and crashed just before its scheduled landing in Pokhara, 20 minutes after take-off.
Yeti Airlines spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula said, “There were 10 foreign nationals on board, including two infants.” News agency ANI quoted the airport authority as saying that 53 Nepalese, 5 Indians, 4 Russians, one Irish, 2 Koreans, 1 Argentinian and one French national were on board.