Nepal plane crash: 4 Indians were going to Pokhara for paragliding

Kathmandu: Of the five Indians who were feared dead in the plane crash in Nepal on Sunday, four were planning to participate in paragliding activities in the tourist hub of Pokhara, a local resident said.

At least 68 people were killed when a Yeti Airlines passenger plane with 72 people onboard, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in central Nepal's resort city of Pokhara on Sunday, officials said.

The five Indians were identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, 25, Bishal Sharma, 22, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, 27, Sonu Jaiswal, 35, and Sanjaya Jaiswal, a Yeti Airlines official said.

Among the five Indian nationals, four had just arrived in Kathmandu from India on Friday.

“All the four were planning to enjoy paragliding in the lake city and tourist hub Pokhara,” recalled Ajay Kumar Shah, a resident of Sarlahi district in southern Nepal.

“We came together from India in the same vehicle, he added. “They stayed in Gaushala near Pashupatinath Temple and then in Hotel Discovery of Thamel, before departing to Pokhara,” he said.

They were planning to return to India from Pokhara via Gorakhpur, he added.

Sonu, the eldest among the Indian nationals, was a resident of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, officials of the Indian Embassy here in Kathmandu have reached out to the family members of the four Indian nationals.