Kathmandu (PTI): The search for the last missing person in the Nepal plane crash resumed on Wednesday after rescuers on Tuesday pulled out one more body from the crash site where a Yeti Airlines aircraft carrying 72 people, including five Indians, had plunged in a river gorge in the resort city of Pokhara.

Two days after the fatal crash, a woman's body was found deep down in the Seti River gorge on Tuesday. With this, the bodies of 71 people who died in the crash have been retrieved.

The search for the missing person started early morning on Wednesday with the help of divers and four drones, rescuers have given up hope of finding the missing person alive, MyRepublica newspaper reported.

The Yeti Airlines aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am on Sunday and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport in Pokhara, minutes before landing.

Fifty-three Nepalese passengers and 15 foreign nationals, including 5 Indians, and four crew members were on board the Yeti Airlines aircraft when it crashed.

The five Indians, all from Uttar Pradesh, have been identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, 25, Bishal Sharma, 22, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, 27, Sonu Jaiswal, 35, and Sanjaya Jaiswal.

As many as 48 bodies of the deceased have been brought to Kathmandu, the report added.

The dead bodies except that of the locals and those who could not be identified and those of foreigners were flown to Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon.

The bodies of the 48 victims have been brought to Kathmandu via Nepal Army helicopters for post-mortem at Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.

Superintendent of Police Dinesh Mainali of Kathmandu Police Range said the bodies will be handed over to the respective families only after the completion of an autopsy.

"Forensics experts are currently working to complete the autopsy of the deceased. After we get the autopsy report, we will hand over the mortal remains of the deceased to the respective family members," he said.

Meanwhile, a team of experts from France arrived in Nepal on Tuesday to study the ATR plane crash of Yeti Airlines that took place in Pokhara on January 15.

A nine-member expert team from the company that manufactures the ATR aircraft has reached Pokhara.

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Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.

In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.

Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.

In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.

The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.

Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.

It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".

"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.

It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.

The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.

On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.

Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.