A Yeti Airlines passenger plane carrying 72 people, including 15 foreigners, crashed near an international airport in Pokhara in central Nepal on Sunday morning, killing at least 68, the country's Civil Aviation Authority said.
The ATR 72 turboprop was flying from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara with 68 passengers and four crew members on board when it crashed into a gorge of the Seti River, spokesman Gyanendra Bhul said.
"The plane caught fire after crashing," Bhul said. It took fire engines over three hours to douse the fire.
Of the 15 foreigners on board flight YT691, five were Indians, four Russians and two South Koreans, according to Yeti Airlines spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula. There were also one each from Argentina, Australia, France and Ireland.
Among the passengers were six children, of whom three were infants.
Pokhara's police chief, Ajaya K.C., said by phone that the search for the remaining four persons has been halted because of darkness and will resume Monday.
The crash site is located between the old airport in Pokhara and the new Pokhara International Airport, which was inaugurated by the country's leader on Jan. 1. The plane was headed to the new airport.
Bikram Gautam, chief of the Civil Aviation Authority, Pokhara, said the weather was good in the area and could not have played a role in the crash.
Yogendra Kunwar, an air traffic controller at Pokhara International Airport, said the pilot of the crashed aircraft had obtained a landing clearance and had not reported any technical or other issues.
It was the Himalayan nation's worst air disaster since the 1992 crash of a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft in Bhattedanda near Kathmandu that killed all 167 on board.
The government convened an emergency Cabinet meeting in Kathmandu following the crash and launched a five-member team to probe the disaster.
Pokhara is a major tourist destination in Nepal and popular with trekking enthusiasts heading for the famed trekking trails of the Annapurna range of mountains.
In May last year, a small passenger plane operated by Yeti-subsidiary Tara Air crashed in a mountainous area shortly after taking off from Pokhara domestic airport, killing all 22 passengers and crew aboard.
In an announcement following Sunday's crash, Yeti Airlines said it has canceled all of its flights scheduled for Monday.
