Ryan Calum Crighton
(Picture: Instagram)A British man was among dozens of people killed in a plane crash in Nepal on Sunday.
Nepalese officials initially said Ruan Calum Crighton, 34, was from the Republic of Ireland. It is understood he was travelling on a UK passport.
Mr Crighton, from Brentwood, Essex, was a talented British ballet dancer who died one day after his birthday, MailOnline reported.
His death sparked an outpouring of grief across Europe’s ballet community.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Nepal and are in contact with the local authorities.”
His was among the names of passengers published by the Civil Aviation Authority ofNepal, where his nationality was listed as Irish.
A spokesman for Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said: “The Department of Foreign Affairs can confirm that an individual indicated in reports as being Irish is a UK national.
“The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is providing consular support.
“Our deepest sympathies go to all those who have been affected by this tragic plane crash.”
Seventy-two people were on board the Yeti Airlines TR 72 flight from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara, with the death toll rising to 68 on Sunday.
Fifteen foreign nationals were among those on board, according to Nepal’s aviation authority.
It was not clear what caused the crash, Nepal’s worst air accident in three decades.
The flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder have been retrieved from the site.
Mr Crighton first joined the Central School of Ballet, London in 2005 before becoming a dancer with the Slovak National Theatre in Slovakia from 2008 to 2013.
He then became a valued member at the prestigious Finnish National Opera and Ballet company in Finland from 2013 to 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile.
More recently, Mr Crighton had been enrolled at the European School of Physiotherapy in Amsterdam. He was supposed to graduate next year.
One dancer at Slovak National Theatre told the Irish Daily Mail that news of his death deeply upset him.
“I got the info yesterday, but I was hoping it wasn’t him.
“Ruan was one of my best friends. We dance together on stage for years… I’m devastated. It is very hard to say something about [him] right now. But first he was a sunshine.’
Johanna Järventaus, Communications Director of Finnish National Opera and Ballet, said she was aware of the tragedy.
