Nepal crash: Dozens killed as plane crashes near Pokhara airport
Dozens of people have been killed after a plane with 72 people on board crashed near an airport in central Nepal.
CNN reports that at least 32 killed in Nepal as plane crashes near city of Pokhara.
Bijay Neupane/Reuters
The Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokhara crashed on landing before catching fire.
Videos posted on social media show an aircraft flying low over a populated area before spinning sharply.
At least 64 people are confirmed to have died, police said. Several critically injured survivors were taken to hospital, unconfirmed reports said.
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Local resident Deeveta Kal told the BBC how she rushed to the crash site after seeing the aircraft plunge from the sky shortly after 11:00am local time (05:15 GMT).
"By the time I was there the crash site was already crowded. There was huge smoke coming from the flames of the plane. And then helicopters came over in no time," she said.
"The pilot tried his best to not hit civilisation or any home," Deevta Kal added. "There was a small space right beside the Seti river and the flight hit the ground in that small space."
The flight set out with 68 passengers on board, including at least 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members.
Hundreds of Nepalese soldiers are involved in the operation at the crash site in the gorge of the Seti River, just one and a half kilometres from the airport.
Video taken where the plane came down showed thick billowing black smoke and burning debris.
"We expect to recover more bodies," an army spokesman told Reuters, saying the plane "has broken into pieces".
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called an emergency meeting of his cabinet and urged state agencies to work on rescue operations. A panel to investigate the cause of the crash has been set up.
