The black box and cockpit voice recorder of the plane that crashed in Nepal have been found, a Kathmandu airport official said.
The ATR 72, operated by Yeti Airlines, was carrying 72 people when it crashed.
Rescuers have so far recovered 68 bodies and the search continues for four missing people.
Video on local media showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers and crowds gathered around the wreckage of the plane.
Teknath Sitaula, an official at Kathmandu airport, said the so-called black boxes “are in good condition now. They seem
well from the outside.”
Recorder data can help investigators determine what caused the plane to crash.
Nepal declared Monday a day of mourning and set up a commission to investigate the disaster and come up with measures to avoid such incidents in the future.
The plane, on a scheduled flight from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, the gateway to the scenic Annapurna mountain range, was carrying 57 Nepalese, five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans and one person each from Argentina, Ireland, Australia and France. .
Pokhara Police Chief Ajay KC said the search and rescue operation, which came to a halt due to nightfall on Sunday, has now resumed.
He said, “We are going to pull the five bodies out of the gorge and search for the other four who are still missing.”
The other 63 bodies had been sent to hospital, he said.
When it crashed, the plane’s fuselage was split into several parts which were scattered in the throat.
Tek Bahadur KC, a senior administrative official in Kaski district, said he expected rescuers to find more bodies at the back of the gorge.
Gaurav Gurung, a witness, said he saw the plane spinning violently in the air after it began to attempt a landing.
He added that he saw the plane drop nose first to his left and then crash into the gorge.
“The plane caught fire after the crash. There was smoke everywhere,” Mr Gurung said.
Nearly 350 people have died since 2000 in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal – home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, including Everest – where sudden weather changes can create dangerous conditions.
Experts say air crashes are usually caused by a combination of factors and investigations can take months or longer.
