Nepal plane crash searchers rappel, fly drones in last-ditch effort to
find two people
Send a link to a friend
[January 17, 2023]
By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU (Reuters) -Searchers used drones and rappelled down a
200-metre (656-feet) deep gorge in Nepal's second-biggest city on
Tuesday to search for two people unaccounted for after the country's
deadliest plane crash in 30 years killed at least 70 people.
Difficult terrain and inclement weather was hampering rescue efforts
near the tourist city of Pokhara, where the Yeti Airlines ATR 72
turboprop carrying 72 people crashed in clear weather on Sunday just
before landing.
Rescue teams were also struggling to identify bodies, Ajay K.C, a police
official in Pokhara who is part of the rescue efforts, told Reuters.
"There is thick fog here now. We are sending search and rescue personnel
using ropes into the gorge where parts of the plane fell and was in
flames," K.C.said.
Rescuers had collected what appeared to be human remains and sent them
for a DNA test, he said, but search efforts would continue till all 72
passengers and crew were accounted for.
Search teams found 68 bodies on the day of the crash, while two more
bodies were recovered on Monday before the search was called off.
"There were small children among the passengers. Some might have been
burnt and died, and may not be found out. We will continue to look for
them," K.C. said.
An airport official said 48 bodies were brought to the capital Kathmandu
on Tuesday and sent to a hospital for autopsies, while 22 bodies were
being handed over to families in Pokhara.
[to top of second column]
|
People hold placards as they take part
in a condolence and protest meeting following the plane crash of a
Yeti Airlines operated aircraft, in Pokhara on January 15, 2023, in
Kathmandu, Nepal January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar
Medical personnel in personal protective equipment and masks helped
transport shrouded bodies from stretchers to a vehicle before they
were flown to Kathmandu, Reuters pictures showed.
Television channels showed weeping relatives waiting for the bodies
of their loved ones outside a hospital in Pokhara.
Dr Tulsi Kandel, at the teaching hospital in Kathmandu, said it
could take up to a week to complete autopsies on all 48 bodies -
half of them charred.
On Monday, searchers found the cockpit voice recorder and flight
data recorder from the flight, both in good condition, a discovery
that is likely to help investigators determine what caused the
crash.
Under international aviation rules, the crash investigation agencies
of the countries where the plane and engines were designed and built
are automatically part of the inquiry.
ATR is based in France and the plane's engines were manufactured in
Canada by Pratt & Whitney Canada.
French and Canadian air accident investigators have said they plan
to participate in the probe.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma, Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing
by Jamie Freed and Jacqueline Wnog)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |