A 72-seater passenger aircraft on Sunday (Jan 15) crashed on the runway at Pokhara International Airport in Nepal. Rescue operations are underway and the airport is closed for the time being.

A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the Yeti airlines aircraft that crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport, spokesperson of Yeti Airlines Sudarshan Bartaula said.

“Around 30 bodies have so far been recovered. Chance of finding survivors is minimal," Chief District Officer Tek Bahadur KC told a Nepal based news agency.

“There are 68 passengers on board and four crew members… Rescue is underway, we don’t know right now if there are survivors," Sudarshan Bartaula earlier told the agency.

There were 10 foreign nationals on board the aircraft, including a few Indians. The plane crashed between the old and new Pokhara airports in central Nepal.

The wreckage was on fire and rescue workers were trying to put out the blaze, said local official Gurudutta Dhakal. Images and videos on social media platforms showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site.

According to top Nepal airport authority officials, the rescue operation is underway through helicopters.

Last year in May, 22 people were killed after a Tara Air plane crashed on a mountain at Sano Sware Bhir in Thasang of Mustang. Sixteen Nepalis, including three crew, four Indian and two German nationals were in the plane.

-B