Nepal plane crash searchers rappel and fly drones to find last passengers

Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Drone searchers descended a 200-meter (656-foot) deep gorge in western Nepal on Tuesday to find two passengers missing after the country’s deadliest plane crash in 30 years, which killed at least 70 people.

Rough terrain and inclement weather hampered rescue efforts near the tourist town of Pokhara, where a Yeti Airlines ATR 72 turboprop aircraft carrying 72 people crashed in clear weather on Sunday just before landing.

“Now there is thick fog. We are sending search and rescue personnel with ropes into the gorge where parts of the aircraft fell and caught fire,” Ajay KC, a police officer in Pokhara who is involved in the rescue, told Reuters. .

On Monday, searchers found two more bodies before the search was abandoned due to a failing light.

“There were small children among the passengers. Some could get burned and die, and they may not be found. We will continue to search for them,” KC said.

Television channels showed footage of some weeping relatives waiting for the bodies of their loved ones outside a hospital where autopsies are being performed in Pokhara.

On Monday, searchers found a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder, both in good condition, and the discovery is likely to help investigators determine the cause of the crash.

In accordance with international aviation regulations, the air crash investigation agencies of the countries where the aircraft and engines were designed and manufactured automatically participate in the investigation.

ATR is based in France and the aircraft engines are made in Canada by Pratt & Whitney Canada.

French and Canadian air crash investigators have said they plan to take part in the investigation.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma, text by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, edited by Jamie Freed)

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