It said the aircraft had contacted the control tower at Pokhara at 10.50am local time (4.05pm AEST) “and after that the plane crashed”, it said in a statement.

Speaking from the crash site, Pokhara police chief Ajaya KC told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that 38 bodies had been recovered there and had already been sent to Gandaki Hospital. Work to recover the remaining bodies was ongoing.

Thirteen bodies had been identified so far, he said.

There is wreckage on a hill next to the Seti Gandaki River, but the explosion from the crash also blew some of the aircraft deep into the gorge of the waterway.

“There is a situation where [rescuers] have to hang on a rope to collect the dead body in the place. Even after seeing three bodies [the] rescue team was not possible to reach there,” Ajaya said.

It was not yet clear what caused Sunday’s crash, but a video said to have been taken by a resident in Pokhara and circulated on social media purportedly captured the flight’s final seconds.

In the vision, a plane was shown flying at a very low height over a populated area and then turning on its side and out of shot before the sound of an explosion.

Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called an emergency cabinet meeting in the wake of the disaster, ordering an immediate investigation.

“I am deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident of Yeti Airlines ANC ATR 72, which was flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara with passengers,” he said.

“I sincerely appeal to the security personnel, all agencies of the Nepal government, and the general public to start an effective rescue.”

The aircraft’s French-Italian manufacturer ATR said its thoughts were with all individuals affected.

“The ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer,” it said.

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said on Twitter the Yeti Airlines aircraft was 15 years old and equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data.

“We are downloading high-resolution data and verifying the data quality,” it said.

Yeti describes itself on its website as a leading domestic carrier of Nepal.

Series of crashes

The crash is Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it ploughed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.

In 2018, a US-Bangla Dash 8 turboprop flight from Dhaka crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 51 of the 71 people on board, according to Aviation Safety Network.

At least 309 people have died since 2000 in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal - home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest - where the weather can change suddenly and make for hazardous conditions.

The European Union has banned Nepali airlines from its airspace since 2013, citing safety concerns.

With Reuters and AP

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