Pokhara central Nepal-January 15, 2023

On its way from the capital Kathmandu to the city of Pokhara ،

A plane with 72 people on board (68 passengers, including 15 foreigners and 4 crew members) crashed in Nepal .

Plane accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, which has eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world, including Everest, as the weather can change abruptly and increase the danger to air navigation.

"31 bodies were taken to hospitals," police official A. K. Chhetri said, adding that another 36 bodies were found at the crash site.

Television footage broadcast by a local station showed thick smoke rising from the crash site, while rescue workers and crowds of people gathered around the wreckage of the plane.

Among the foreigners were 5 Indians, 4 russians, two from South Korea and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.

The tourist city of Pokhara, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular long-distance hiking route in the Himalayas, and Pokhara International Airport began operations just two weeks ago.

In 2018, a passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people on board.

In 1992, all 167 passengers of a Pakistan Airlines plane were killed when it crashed into a hill while trying to land in Kathmandu.