Nepal plane crash: Yeti Airlines cancels regular flights for Jan 16 in mourning gesture

In the wake of the tragic plane crash that killed at least 68 in Nepal's Pokhara, Yeti Airlines announced that it has cancelled its regular flights for January 16 as a sign of mourning for the deceased. Although the emergency and rescue flights will not be affected, the airline said.

“In mourning for the passengers who lost their lives in the accident of Yeti Airlines 9N ANC ATR 72 500, we would like to inform you that all regular flights of Yeti Airlines for 16th January 2023 have been cancelled. However, emergency and rescue flights will resume. We apologise for the inconvenience caused," the airline said in an official statement.

The plane which took off from Kathmandu crashed two kilometres away from the Pokhara airport during landing, killing 68 persons. While speaking to Republic TV, Dhana Raj Acharya, Mayor of Nepal's Pokhara revealed that this is the biggest plane crash in the country in the last 25 years. The Nepal government has formed a five-member committee to investigate the crash and find out the reason behind the accident and the hunt for the plane's black box has been initiated. 

A 'black box' is an instrument that records the performance of an aircraft and flight parameters, including factors such as speed, altitude and several other parameters as well as pilot conversations in the cockpit. Meanwhile, the airport has been closed and public functions have been cancelled to mourn the tragedy, the Mayor told Republic Media Network. 

All deceased passengers identified

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has identified all the passengers who died in the crash. According to the CAAN, there were 25 women, 37 men, three children and three infants onboard the plane. Among the deceased were 53 Nepalis, five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans, one Irish national, one Argentinian, one Australian, and a French national. A CAAN official revealed that the five Indians have been identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, Bishal Sharma, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, Sonu Jaiswal, and Sanjaya Jaiswal and four of them travelled from Kathmandu for paragliding in Pokhara. Sonu (35) was the eldest among the Indian nationals and was a resident of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.