Pokhara Air Crash: Identifying bodies becoming extremely difficult

Funeral rites of journalist Poudel being performed

POKHARA, Jan 17: It has been difficult to identify the bodies of the passengers who were killed in the Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara on Sunday. The police said that there was a problem in identifying the mortal remains as the bodies had been found in mutilated conditions. The police said that not only the identity of the person could not be distinguished but also it has been difficult to recognize which body part belonged to which person.

According to the Police Spokesperson of Kaski, Police Inspector Gyan Bahadur Khadka, 70 dead bodies have been found so far. However, as some people's limbs were found in different places, it is suspected that they may belong to the missing person. According to Khadka, on the basis of the suspicion that the different body parts found at the accident site are of the same person, a report has been prepared. He added that it is difficult to tell the difference.

Police have sent the bodies of 48 people who died in the accident to Kathmandu. As many as 23 of them have not been identified. The remaining 25 people have been identified. However, their bodies have been sent to Kathmandu as they need to be tested further. Only 22 bodies have been kept in Pokhara. The bodies of eight of them have been identified by their families so far. Spokesperson Khadka informed Republica that the postmortem of the rest is underway. "The bodies have been identified, but it has been delayed as the process of post-mortem has not started," he said.

Last Sunday, the biggest domestic air accident took place when a Yeti Airlines plane crashed while trying to land at the Pokhara Regional International Airport. Of the 72 people on board, including four crew members, the bodies of 70 persons have been found. The condition of two more people is unknown. As many as 57 Nepali citizens including four crew members and 15 foreigners were killed in this plane crash in Pokhara.

Funeral rites of Journalist Poudel being held

Meanwhile, preparations are being made for the funeral rites of journalist Tribhuvan Paudel, who died in the aircraft accident. His body has been taken to Shantighat for the last rites. Earlier, journalist Paudel's body was taken from the hospital to the Federation of Nepali Journalists in the morning and kept for last respect. Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Khagraj Adhikari along with party leaders, journalists, businessmen and residents of Pokhara participated to pay their respects to Paudel in the funeral.