This is the chilling moment a plane crash in Nepal was streamed live on Facebook by one of the passengers who was later discovered dead among the wreckage. Only minutes before the Yeti Airlines aircraft crashed in Pokhara in Nepal, four passengers from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh in India went live on Facebook to share their experience of the flight.
The men were making the short trip to Pokhara in January after spending a week-long paragliding trip in Nepal, the Mirror reports. In the disturbing footage filmed by Sonu Jaiswal, 29 one of them can be heard saying 'have a look at the water body, it's beautiful' as the plane approached Pokhara airport while another says: "It's a lot of fun!"
Shortly after, the clip shows the aircraft making a sharp left turn before it fatally crashes into a gorge and explodes into flames. For the next 41 seconds of the clip, the phone camera captures glimpses of raging flames which is followed by screaming.
Initially, the passengers appear in high spirits as they made jokes amongst them but only minutes later the footage becomes hazy before the plane is engulfed by a huge fire. Sonu Jaiswal, 29, Anil Rajbhar, 28, Vishal Sharma, 23, and Abhishek Singh Kushwaha, 23, were all tragically killed in the crash along with 68 other passengers.
The group had been in Kathmandu performing Hindu worship at the Pashupatinath temple before the tragedy took place. Jaiswal was a liquor trader and Rajbhar and Kushwaha ran non-profit charities, with Sharma working as a finance officer for a motorcycle company.
Sonu's cousin Rajat Jaiswal said: "Sonu went live on Facebook after boarding the flight to Pokhara. The live-streaming showed Sonu and his friends in a good mood, but then flames appeared before the streaming stopped.
The Indian Prime Minister Nerendra Modi gave his condolences for the 'precious lives lost' in a tweet. He wrote: "Pained by the tragic air crash in Nepal in which precious lives have been lost, including Indian nationals. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families".
Local politician Balram Singh has 'promised the families full cooperation in bringing back their bodies'. Abhishek's older brother said: "The Indian and Nepalese embassies have both called us in the last three hours. We were told that on Monday morning, bodies will arrive in Delhi".
Vishal's brother said his family is uncertain how they will receive the 23-year-old's remains for cremation. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath tweeted: “The plane crash in Nepal is very sad.
"A humble tribute to all the people who died in this, including the Indian citizens! My condolences are with the bereaved families. May Lord Shri Ram grant peace to the departed souls in his holy feet and speedy recovery to the injured."
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