Nepal Aircraft Crash, Search for 4 Missing Bodies Underway, 68 Bodies Recovered till Now

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth

Last Updated: January 16, 2023

On Monday, a search for victims from the passenger flight ATR 72 crashed on Sunday, took place. It was carrying 72 people onboard. The crash occurred just before the plane landed that too in the clear weather of Pokhara city. The incident killed at least 68 people, the deadliest plane crash recorded in the history of Nepal in the last 30 years. The black boxes of aircraft found, which had a passenger flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. 68 bodies have been recorded, and the search for 4 more bodies is still underway.

The rescuers had to encounter poor visibility because of cloudy weather as they searched the river gorge for the missing bodies. A Kathmandu Airport official, Teknath Sitaula said that the black boxes may assist with the investigations as to why the aircraft crashed. The black boxes were recovered in good condition and looked fine from the outside. The authorities from the aviation sector have said that they will take necessary steps to help prevent such future incidents.

The plane carried 4 Russians, 5 Indians, 2 South Koreans, 57 Nepalis, and one person each from France, Ireland, Argentina, and Australia. The rescue operation had to be halted on Sunday because of darkness, according to Ajay K.C., a Pokhara police official. He said that the cloudiness was affecting the search for the missing passengers and that the search will resume for the 4 people missing and the 5 still in the gorge once the weather improved. The bodies of 63 passengers have been transferred to a hospital.

Nepal, a rich scenic locale of the 14 highest mountains, which also boasts of Everest has seen 350 dead since the year 2000 from helicopter and plane crashes. Given the terrain, sudden changes in the weather are common here, which also is the reason for hazardous conditions for the aircraft to fly. Because of the uncertainty of the cause of air accidents, investigations sometimes take longer than a few months. On Monday, Nepal also declared national mourning for a day as a due condolence and respect for the crash.