The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from a passenger plane that crashed in Nepal were recovered by search teams on Monday, as officials warn there are unlikely to be any survivors.
The so-called black boxes are hoped to contain vital data about what happened in the moments before the Yeti Airlines ATR 72 aircraft crashed into a gorge in the tourist city of Pokhara, minutes before coming in to land in clear weather on Sunday.
Of the 72 people onboard, 68 bodies have so far been found by rescue workers making it Nepal’s deadliest plane crash in 30 years, while a national day of mourning has been declared in the Himalayan nation.
Police spokesperson Tek Prasad Rai told the BBC on Monday hopes are fading for the four people who remain missing.
“It’s unlikely there will be any survivors,” he said, adding that body parts were being found at the scene.
It is not yet clear what caused the crash but Teknath Sitaula, a Kathmandu Airport official, said the plane’s black boxes appear to be “in a good condition”.
“They look good from outside,” he said.
Rescuers were on Monday battling cloudy weather and poor visibility as they scoured the river gorge for the four passengers who remain unaccounted for, more than 24 hours after the crash.
Pokhara police official Ajay KC said: “We will take out the five bodies from the gorge and search for the remaining four that are still missing. It is cloudy now...causing a problem in the search.”
The other 63 bodies had been sent to a hospital, he said.
A spokesperson for Pokhara airport also said that the weather was hampering rescue efforts, but that clouds were expected to clear later in the day.
The plane, on a scheduled flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara, gateway to the scenic Annapurna mountain range, had been carrying 57 Nepalis, five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one person each from Ireland, Argentina, Australia and France.
Nearly 350 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 sudden weather changes can make for hazardous conditions.
Experts say air accidents are usually caused by a combination of factors, and investigations can take months or longer.
India’s aviation regulator said it would take all measures to ensure safe aviation in the country’s airspace.
Nepal declared a day of national mourning on Monday and has set up a panel to investigate the disaster and suggest measures to avoid such incidents in future.
