16/01/2023
68 DEAD, 4 MISSING AFTER PLANE CRASHES IN NEPAL
Nepalese rescue workers inspect wreckage at the site of a plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal on Monday.
Nepal began a national day of mourning Monday, a day after a plane crashed while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard.
Rescue workers rappelled down a 300-meter (984 feet) gorge to continue the search. Two more bodies have been found Monday morning.
It remains unclear what caused the crash, the country's deadliest airplane accident in three decades, which took place amid mild, non-windy weather.
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines, was completing the 27-minute flight from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west. It was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, as well as four crew members, Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France. | via Associated Press