Nepal plane crash: 67 killed in mishap, including five Indians
Kathmandu: At least 67 of the 72 people onboard the Yeti Airline ATR-72 aircraft from Kathmandu to Pokhara died as the plane crashed in Pokhara on Sunday morning.
The plane carried 68 passengers as well as four crew members. There were 15 foreign nationals, including six children, were on board. 53 Nepali, 5 Indian, 4 Russian, 2 Koreans, 1 Argentinian, and one each from Ireland, Australia, and France were in the plane, the airlines said in a statement.
Police officer A K Chhetri has said that 31 bodies were taken to hospitals, while 36 passengers’ bodies were found in the gorge where the plane crashed, reports NDTV.
Nepali journalist Dilip Thapa has said that rescue operators are struggling due to the fire at the accident site.
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda called an emergency Cabinet meeting and the Nepal government has formed a five-member commission to probe the crash.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the flight took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am on Sunday. The plane was about to land at the Pokhara airport, when it crashed into a gorge on the bank of River Seti and also caught fire.
The plane crashed about 20 minutes after take-off. The flight time between the two cities is 25 minutes, suggesting that the plane might have crashed during descent.
The airline spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula has said that there is no information regarding survivors yet.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia condoled the loss of lives in the plane crash.
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Organisation should be strengthened: Tharoor supports Digvijaya's views
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday came out in support of the views of his party colleague Digvijaya Singh, saying the organisation should be strengthened.
At the 140th Foundation Day event at the Congress' Indira Bhawan headquarters, Tharoor was seated next to Digvijaya Singh and exchanged notes.
Ahead of the CWC meet on Saturday, Singh created a flutter by lauding the organisational power of RSS-BJP as he shared Narendra Modi's old picture and said how a grassroots worker went on to become the chief minister and prime minister by sitting at the feet of their leaders.
He also raised the issue of strengthening the Congress organisation at the grassroots level, asserting it was much needed in the fight against the ruling BJP and to oust it from power.
A day later, Digvijaya Singh said he had already stated whatever he had to say. "For 50 years I have been with the Congress party, and I have fought these communal forces, whether in the assembly, parliament or in the organisation," he noted.
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"I have basic differences and am opposed to their ideology. I have and will continue to fight against such people," Singh claimed. When asked to comment on his Saturday's remarks, he said, "Every organisation needs strengthening.
Tharoor, when asked to comment on the issue, said, "The organisation should be strengthened, there is no doubt."
On being seated next to Singh and whether the two exchanged views on the matter, Tharoor said, "We keep talking with each other, we are friends and talk to each other."
"It is the 140th foundation day of the Congress. It is a very important event for the party. It is a day in which we look back on our very remarkable history and the contributions the party has made to the nation," he also told reporters.
In a post on X, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said, "Today marks the 140th anniversary of the founding of the Indian National Congress, an organisation that played a pivotal role in leading India's struggle for independence from British rule."
"Since its first session in 1885, the party has remained a cornerstone of the nation's democratic journey and political evolution. The occasion was marked with solemnity and camaraderie at Indira Bhavan today," Tharoor said in his post.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said, "I feel the BJP is distorting the intent of Digvijaya's post. The Sangh, which spreads hatred and gets inspiration from the ideology of Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi, we don't need to learn anything from them."
"We are the Indian National Congress, and we fought the freedom struggle against injustice and exploitation of the British rule, and turned it into a Jan Andolan. We don't need to learn anything from anyone; rather, others should learn from us," Shrinate claimed.
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Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said, "We have a lot in the Congress, and others should learn from the Congress instead. We certainly don't need to learn from the RSS as we oppose that ideology."
Another leader, Rajiv Shukla, said, "The roots of this party are so deep that they can never be wiped out."
#WATCH | Delhi | On Congress leader Digvijaya Singh praising the organisational strength of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, "We have a history of 140 years, and we can learn a lot from it. We can learn from ourselves, too. Discipline is very… pic.twitter.com/NUfz7scRiu
— ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2025
