A plane carrying 72 people has crashed in Nepal, killing at least 40 people, officials said.
Video on local media showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site as rescuers and crowds gathered around the wreckage of the plane.
It was carrying 68 passengers and four crew members, an airline spokesman said.
Of the passengers, 10 were foreigners and two were infants.
At least 40 bodies have been recovered from the site in west Pokhara, a Nepal Aviation Authority spokesman said.
“We expect to recover more bodies,” said army spokesman Krishna Bhandari. “The plane broke into pieces.”
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the prime minister, called an emergency cabinet meeting and urged security personnel and local people to join in the rescue efforts.
The twin-engine ATR 72 operated by Yeti Airlines was en route from the capital Kathmandu, an airport official said.
It was the deadliest plane crash in Nepal since 1882, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
The plane was 15 years old, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
Plane crashes are not uncommon in Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, including Everest, as the weather can change suddenly and create dangerous conditions.
Last year, 22 people died when a plane crashed into the side of a mountain.
In 2018, a Bangladeshi-American passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people on board.
