A cellphone recovered from the wreckage of the Yeti Airlines flight that crashed in Nepal today appears to have captured the flight’s final, very disturbing moments. The twin-engine ATR 72 plane from Kathmandu, carrying 72 people, crashed shortly before landing in Pokhara, a popular tourist destination in the Himalayan country. At least 68 passengers were killed.
The video, which has gone viral on social media, begins with shots of passengers inside the plane and the city below seen through the window as the plane circles before landing. Suddenly, there is an explosion, and the screen flips upside down. The final few seconds show a terrifying fire outside the window, as well as the cries of distraught passengers.
The video’s authenticity could not be independently verified by NDTV.
Another video from the ground showed the flight’s progress as it began to land. The plane suddenly tipped to the left, turned upside down, and then burst into a ball of fire, according to reports.
Five Indian passengers were on board, all of whom were from Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. Sonu Jaiswal, one of them, was apparently doing a Facebook Live shortly before the plane crashed. He is no longer alive. The same video can be found on his unverified Facebook account.
Abhishek Pratap Shah, a former Nepali MP and Nepali Congress Central Committee member who sent the video footage, told NDTV that he received it from a friend.
Abhishek Pratap Shah, a former Nepali MP and Nepali Congress Central Committee member who sent the video footage, told NDTV that he received it from a friend and that it was recovered today from the wreckage.
“It was sent by one of my friends, who got it from a police officer. It’s a true record. Today’s video was taken as the plane was about to land “In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Shah stated.
The search for the plane’s black box, which is expected to shed light on the causes of the crash, is expected to continue tomorrow. Pokhara is only a 25-minute flight from Kathmandu, the Himalayan country’s capital.
Recently, there have been several plane crashes in Nepal, raising concerns about safety and training of flight crew.
Nepal has been on the European Union’s flight safety blacklist since 2013. After the International Civil Aviation Organization raised safety concerns, all flights from Nepal were barred from entering EU airspace.
“This aircraft is the best we have in Nepal, and all of the leading airlines have been using it,” Mr Shah said.
