An aircraft from domestic airline Yeti Airlines crashed on Sunday in Pokhara, Nepal, killing at least 40 people, according to a representative of the Nepal aviation authority.
Nepal civil aviation authority spokesperson Jagannath Niroula declared that rescue efforts were underway and the sky was clear.
Local media showed rescuers and crowds of spectators gathered around the aeroplane wreckage as dense black smoke billowed from the crash site.
According to Yeti Airlines spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula, there were 72 persons on board the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, including two infants, four staff members, and 10 foreign nationals.
Numerous rescue personnel were searching the crash scene on a mountainside.
According to the flight-tracking service FlightRadar24, the aircraft was 15 years old.
