Magh 1, Pokhara. Since Pokhara International Airport came into operation, large ships stopped being seen over the Prithvichok area. From January 1, 2023, ships used to land directly at the international airport from Lekhnath area.
But on Sunday local Babarjung Gurung saw a ship flying over his house, the ship suddenly exploded and the sound of a dam breaking was heard towards Seti Khonch. ‘When I went to look at the hole, the fire was burning with a puff of smoke. The ship is half submerged, half is burning above,’ said Gurung, ‘I had not known such an incident.’
According to Vikas Basyal, whose house is near the Seti river, the ship made a loud noise and went towards Khonch. He saw that some people were thrown from the ship after it hit the deal outside the bay.
Nine N-ANC aircraft of Yeti Airlines caught fire on Sunday morning after the accident, the sky of Pokhara was covered with smoke, the news of the accident spread throughout the market and people started running towards it. In the media, the news about the crash of Yeti Airlines with 72 people on board also started coming. At once, a large crowd was seen around Seti Khonch in Pokhara.
Some local residents were in the rescue from the beginning and all the security agencies of Kaski were also involved in the rescue. However, the crowd of people to see Ramita came to a situation where the ambulance could not even come/go. Ambulance sirens kept ringing around Seti Khonch throughout the day. Screams of family and relatives traveling on the ship were heard.
By Sunday evening, the bodies of 68 people were found and the condition of 4 people is still unknown. The security officials said that the bodies with identification will be handed over only on Sunday, and those without identification will be sent to Kathmandu for examination.
Pilots, doctors, journalists, musicians, foreign guests and ordinary citizens of this country lost their lives in the accident.
Most of the ships coming to Pokhara come from the eastern region and land there. Before the plane crash on Sunday, the air traffic controller of Pokhara Airport also asked the pilot to land on ‘Runway-30’ on the east side of the runway. But Yogendra KC, head of ATC at Tribhuvan Airport informed that the captain said he was coming from ‘Runway 12’. 
Businessman Anandram Mulmi says, ‘It is difficult to understand why and how the situation was created when a ship that was supposed to land from the east had to land from the west.’
The crash of a ship that had taken landing clearance has raised many questions. According to Mulmi, the former president of the Federation of Industries and Commerce, it has also raised questions about the capacity of the Civil Aviation Authority.
The emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers held after the ship accident has formed a 5-member commission under the coordination of former secretary Nagendra Rizal to investigate the cause of the accident. Similarly, the government has given instructions to conduct technical tests on all domestic flights.
Businessman Mulmi says that Civil Aviation Authority should focus on regular maintenance and monitoring of ships. There were times when even the ships that were about to fly would turn back, and there were situations where they had to make an emergency landing while flying. From strengthening its system to monitoring, the authority is still not that sensitive, he said.
When Pokhara International Airport was inaugurated on January 1, 2023, it was believed to be a milestone in the country’s economic development. Pokhreli celebrated the fulfillment of a 50-year-old dream.
At the inauguration of the airport, the people of Pokhreli erupted. After the inauguration, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda said that Pokhara International Airport will contribute greatly to the country’s economy. After the opening of the international airport, the talk of international tourists entering Pokhara and thereby boosting the local and national economy has not yet been discussed in Pokhara.
However, on the 15th day of the inauguration, as the atmosphere of the festival did not end, there was mourning in Pokhara. Sanjay Karki, a local, said that within a few days of celebrating the opening of the international airport, he had to witness a dark day. He said, ‘Not only Pokhara, the country is in mourning. Today, the lives of many relatives in the country/abroad are drowned in Seti and not water, but tears flowed in Seti.’
Pokhara International Airport was inaugurated on Sunday by a 72-seater plane that crashed. The pilot who flew the test flight and gave the message that the regular flight could be operated at the airport, the plane crashed under the leadership of the experienced pilot Kamal KC. This accident is the biggest that has happened during a domestic flight in Nepalese skies.
22 people lost their lives when a Yeti Air plane crashed on Jestha 15th last year while going from Pokhara to Somsom. When Pokhara International Airport was starting, they did not suspect such a terrible accident so soon.
Mulmi says that this accident has sent a message that Nepali skies are still not safe at the international level. “This accident is very sad for us when there is a challenge to operate regular air services at the important international airport of Nepal”, said Mulmi, “is it human error or are our ships old?” That would be a serious study.’
Tourism businessman Basu Tripathi says that the accident raises questions about the future of Pokhara International Airport. ‘Neither the weather is bad, nor the connection with the tower is broken. In this case, it can be assumed that there was a problem somewhere in the ship’, Tripathi said, ‘This will affect the aviation sector. The human price that has to be paid is greater than that.’
He says that the situation where the government or the authorized body forgets all these incidents within a few days but does not learn from them is seen again and again.
Also in May 2012, 19 people died when a ship crashed in Gandaki area. A Jomsom Agni Air plane carrying Indian pilgrims from Pokhara crashed near the Jomsom airport. In August 2002, 18 people died when a DHC twin-over flight of Sangirla Air crashed in Pokhara.
On the one hand, Pokhara is shocked by the current accident, on the other hand, there is concern that the biggest accident in domestic flights so far is in Pokhara, that it will cause difficulties in the operation of international flights.
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