At least 44 people have been killed after an aircraft carrying 72 people crashed in Nepal.<\/p>\n
The plane was flying from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara on Sunday when it crashed. Pokhara is a bustling tourist town about 200km (124 miles) west of Kathmandu.<\/p>\n
There were 72 people on the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines, including four crew members, said airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula.<\/p>\n
Nepal Police Spokesperson, Tek Prasad Rai, told Al Jazeera that the death toll has gone up to 44, adding that no survivors have been found so far.<\/p>\n
Jagannath Niroula, spokesman for Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority, confirmed the figure.<\/p>\n
“Thirty bodies have been recovered and sent to hospital,” Niroula told Reuters news agency. “Another 14 bodies are still lying at the crash site and authorities are bringing in a crane to move them.”<\/p>\n
Local television showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers and crowds of people gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft.<\/p>\n
“Responders have already reached there and trying to douse the fire. All agencies are now focused on first dousing the fire and rescuing the passengers,” local official Gurudutta Dhakal said..<\/p>\n
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“Half of the plane is on the hillside,” said Arun Tamu, a local resident, who told Reuters he reached the site minutes after the plane went down.<\/p>\n
“The other half has fallen into the gorge of the Seti river.”<\/p>\n
Speaking to Al Jazeera from Kathmandu, Ramyata Limbu said locals in Pokhara asserted weather and visibility was “good” when the plane crashed.<\/p>\n
“So its [the crash] shocking and surprising,” said Limbu. “Eyewitnesses said the plane was having problems before it crashed into a gorge close to the airport.”<\/p>\n
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called an emergency cabinet meeting after the plane crash, a government statement said.<\/p>\n
“I am deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident of Yeti Airlines ANC ATR 72 which was flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara with passengers,” he posted on Twitter.<\/p>\n
“I sincerely appeal to the security personnel, all agencies of the Nepal government and the general public to start an effective rescue.”<\/p>\n
The crash is Nepal’s deadliest since March 2018, when a US-Bangla Dash 8 turboprop flight from Dhaka crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 51 of the 71 people on board, according to Aviation Safety Network.<\/p>\n