Flight data and voice recorders have been recovered after a plane crashed in Nepal on Sunday.
The BBC reports that 72 passengers and crew were on the Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Nepal when the plane crashed. No one is believed to have survived.
The outlet adds that it's the country's deadliest plane crash in 30 years.
The plane was scheduled to land at the new Pokhara International Airport, which had just opened 15 days before the crash. It went down in the Seti River, about a kilometre from the airport.
A Pokhara airport spokesperson told the Independent, the pilot of the plane had asked the airport to switch runways just minutes before the plane went down into the gorge.
The spokesperson confirmed with the outlet that the pilot did not report anything unusual to air traffic control and that weather conditions were good for a "safe landing."
On Monday, Nepal's police were at the crash site combing through the wreckage.
According to Al Jazeera, 69 people have been confirmed dead so far.
Nepal's government has put together an investigation panel and announced a day of national mourning on Monday.
“The incident was tragic. The full force of the Nepali army, police has been deployed for rescue,” Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said, as reported by Al Jazeera.
A local resident who lives in the area where the plane crashed told the BBC she rushed to the crash site and saw a lot of smoke coming from the plane.
"The pilot tried his best to not hit civilization or any home," Divya Dhakal told the outlet.
"There was a small space right beside the Seti River and the flight hit the ground in that small space."
According to the BBC, 53 passengers on the flight were Nepalese and the remainder of the victims were from several other countries, including India, Korea, Russia, Australia and France.
A pilot who routinely flies from India to Nepal told the Associated Press that with Nepal's topography, including mountain peaks and narrow valleys, there is an increased risk of accidents. The area also sometimes requires pilots to fly by sight rather than depending on instruments.
Sunday's plane crash is the deadliest the country has witnessed since 1992 when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when the plane attempted to land in Kathmandu.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
Flight Data Has Been Recovered From A Plane That Crashed In Nepal & There Are No Known Survivors
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