60 Nepal air crash victims handed over to relatives

Nepalese authorities have handed over the remains of 60 victims of the latest plane crash to relatives, the airline said.

Rescuers were still searching for two bodies after a Yeti Airlines flight carrying 72 people crashed in the resort town of Pokhara, 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of the capital Kathmandu, on Jan. 15.

Of the 10 other remains recovered, six have been identified and will be returned to relatives soon, while four others still need to be identified, the airline said in a statement.

The twin-engine ATR 72-500 crashed into a canyon as it approached Pokhara International Airport at the foot of the Himalayas. The crash site was about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the runway at an altitude of about 2,700 feet (820 meters).

While the cause of the crash remains unknown, some aviation experts said video from the ground in the plane’s final moments showed the plane stalling, but the cause was unclear.

The Nepal Civil Aviation Authority also said the airport’s instrument landing system will not be operational until February 26, eight weeks after the airport started operations on January 1.

Aviation safety experts said the absence reflected Nepal’s poor aviation safety record, where mountainous terrain and resulting changeable weather conditions made flying conditions difficult.

It was Nepal’s deadliest plane crash since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines plane plunged into a hill while trying to land in Kathmandu, killing all 167 people on board.

Since 1946, there have been 42 fatal plane crashes in Nepal, according to the Safety Matters Foundation.