At least 16 killed in Nepal plane crash

At least 16 people are dead after an aircraft carrying 72 passengers crashed in Pokhara in central Nepal, in the Himalayan country’s worst crash in more than 30 years.

Hundreds of rescue workers are scouring the hillside crash site, with state television reporting that a number of bodies have been recovered.

“We expect to recover more bodies,” army spokesperson Krishna Bhandari told Reuters. “The plane has broken into pieces.”

The Yeti Airlines twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft had 72 people on board, including two infants, four crew members and 10 foreign nationals, airline spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said.

“We don’t know their nationalities,” he said. “We are trying to ascertain it.”

Local television showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers and crowds of people gathered around the wreckage, ABC reported.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called an emergency cabinet meeting after the plane crash, a government statement said.

The plane was 15 years old, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

Air accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, as the weather can change suddenly and make for hazardous conditions.