Shocking footage 'shows final moments' of laughing passengers on Nepal plane before crash that killed at least 69 people

16 January 2023, 05:43 | Updated: 16 January 2023, 12:49

Horror footage shared online appears to show the final moments of passengers on the plane that crashed in Nepal on Sunday morning as it began to go down.

The footage, shared to Facebook Live, shows a man and his four friends sharing a joke as the plane descends towards the airport.

Suddenly the screen goes orange and the sound of passengers panicking can be heard.

The Yeti Airlines flight was travelling from Nepalese capital Kathmandhu to Pokhara, with phone footage filmed from the ground showing it roll sharply as it came in to land. The plane hit the ground less than a mile from the airport.

Officials have said it is unlikely any of the 72 passengers and crew on board survived the crash, whose cause remains unclear.

LBC has been unable to verify the footage shared from inside the aircraft, but the Times of India reported that the man who did the filming, Sonu Jaiswal, was on the flight, having spoken to his cousin.

"Sonu went live on Facebook after boarding the flight to Pokhara," the cousin told the Indian publication.

"The live-streaming showed Sonu and his friends in a good mood, but then flames appeared before the streaming stopped."

Hundreds of rescuers flocked to the scene of the crash trying to look for any survivors from the wreckage.

"By the time I was there the crash site was already crowded, one rescuer told the BBC. There was huge smoke coming from the flames of the plane. And then helicopters came over in no time."

She added: "The pilot tried his best to not hit civilisation or any home. There was a small space right beside the Seti River and the flight hit the ground in that small space."

A national day of mourning is taking place on Tuesday in Nepal after the crash. The search was called off the same day.

A spokesman for Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority said a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder have been retrieved from the site.

Nepalese flying conditions are difficult because of the mountainous terrain and changeable weather conditions.

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The country suffers a relatively high number of plane crashes, and the European Union has banned Nepalese aircraft from its airspace since 2014, citing concerns about safety standards.

It comes after 22 people died when a plane crashed on a mountainside in Nepal last year.

In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people on board.