A Yeti Airlines Twin-Otter plane carrying sixteen passengers and three crew members crashed at a remote airstrip in Nepal yesterday morning, local time. The plane’s wheel became entangled in a security fence as it was landing at the trekking base of Lukla, about 30 miles from Mount Everest. 18 people, including a group of 12 German trekkers, were killed. Only the pilot survived, though he remains in critical condition at an area hospital. Passengers waiting for other planes were first on the scene, but they were ill-equipped to fight the fire that had broken out on impact. By the time it was finally extinguished, everyone in the passenger cabin was beyond help.
The crash was initially blamed on poor visibility. It was quite foggy at the time of the crash, though two similar planes had already landed at the airstrip that morning. The government has promised a full investigation. The team looking into the disaster will be headed by the country’s attorney general. The airport is located at 2500 meters above sea level and many people say it is ill-equipped to handle the heavy traffic it sees during trekking and climbing season.