A TOTAL OF 70 bodies out of the 72 have been recovered after the Pokhra International Airport witnessed a fatal plane crash on Sunday.
The number of passengers unaccounted for now stands at 2, said Nepal Police on Monday, as per a report by ANI.
Earlier in the day, the relatives of five Indians, who lost their lives in the Yeti plane crash, were sent to Nepal to identify the bodies.
While talking with ANI, the father of Anil Kumar Rajbhar, one of the victims of the plane crash, said that the government is arranging to take them to the Nepal border. A police officer and a retired official are also going with them.
Meanwhile, the black box of the Yeti Airlines aircraft was also handed over by the Nepal Army to Civil Aviation Authority officials on Monday.
The Nepal Army also handed over the flight data recorder, following the crash. The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft from Kathmandu crashed in Pokhara minutes before touch-down on Sunday. A total of 68 bodies have been recovered so far from the site of the crash.
"Bodies of passengers, whose identities have been established, have been sent for post-mortem. A group of experts also has arrived at the spot. The bodies will be handed over to the families here but those of the crew members, foreigners and the ones yet to be identified will be sent to Kathmandu this evening," Assistant Chief District Officer of Kaski, Nepal, Anil Kumar Shahi told ANI.
The crash is the deadliest air crash that Nepal has witnessed in the past 30 years. There were a total of 68 passengers, including five Indians and four crew members, in the air plane when the unfortunate incident took place.
The regular flights on Monday were also cancelled after the accident.
In an official statement shared on Twitter, Nepal's Yeti airlines 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 for January 16, 2023 have been cancelled."
(With inputs from ANI)