As tributes pour in for Sydney teacher Myron Love, who died in a plane crash in Nepal on Sunday, friends and relatives of other victims from across the globe are similarly paying respects to their loved ones, including a Nepali folk singer, a Russian travel blogger and a British ballet dancer.
WARNING: This story contains content that some readers may find distressing.
Seventy-two people, including four Nepali crew members and 15 foreign passengers, died when a Yeti Airlines ART72-500 plane flying out of Kathmandu crashed on a hillside near Pokhara, a tourist city below the Annapurna Range.
Authorities have since recovered the cockpit voice and flight data recorders from the wreckage, and hope the data contained in them will help investigators determine why the aircraft appeared to suddenly bank to the left as it approached the Pokhara International Airport for landing.
Nepali officials have released the passenger register for the flight, although some of the identities of those believed to be on board are yet to be confirmed.
Nepali victims include folk singer, co-pilot
Among the confirmed Nepali victims of the crash was folk singer Nira Chhantyalm, who was travelling to Pokhara to perform the following day.
She was known for combining traditional Nepali music with modern social media trends like lip-syncing, gaining her more than 100,000 followers on her TikTok account.
She posted a message on Facebook celebrating the Nepali festival of Maghe Sankranti less than an hour before the crash.
Among the Nepalese dead was co-pilot Anju Khatiwada, 44, whose husband died in a Yeti Airlines crash in Jumla, Nepal, in 2006.
An airline spokesman told Reuters she had obtained her pilot training in the United States using the insurance money from her husband's death, and had more than 6,400 hours of flying time.
Ms Khatiwada's remains have not been recovered, the spokesman said.
A relative and close friend of her father's told The New York Times her father had asked her not to choose the profession of her husband following his death, but she was determined to follow in his footsteps.
Adventurers among foreign crash dead
Aside from the Australian, Mr Love, the foreigners travelling on the flight included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and solo passengers from Argentina, the United Kingdom and France.
The Briton was identified as Ruan Crighton, a physiotherapy student and talented ballet dancer from Essex, who had danced with the Slovak National Theatre and the Finnish National Opera and Ballet.
The passenger register described him as Irish, but Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed he was travelling on a UK passport.
He died just one day after celebrating his 34th birthday.
Russian travel blogger Elena Banduro, 33, was also confirmed as having died in the crash, along with fellow Russian nationals Viktoria Altunina, Yuri Lugin and Viktor Lagin.
Ms Banduro was a social media manager from Moscow who posted upbeat messages about her travels across Asia and Europe on her blog and Instagram account.
She posted a selfie from her seat on the plane before take-off, accompanied by a picture of a Himalayan peak and the caption "Go to Nepal!"
Friends and relatives spoke of their disbelief at the news of the crash, with one describing her as the "kindest soul".
Russian media outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda reported Ms Banduro had recently told friends and family she was three months pregnant.
Also among the confirmed dead was Argentinian Jannet Palavecino.
The 57-year-old was the manager of the Hotel Suizo in Neuquen, Argentina, and was due to be a grandmother for the first time next month.
A passionate mountain climber, she was in Nepal with a group of friends and had already visited climbing hotspots including Mount Everest and the Khumbu Glacier before making her way to Pokhara.
Neuquen's governor confirmed Jannet's death on his Twitter account, while her sister-in-law, Marga Bello, posted a picture of her smiling on a rock to Facebook accompanied by an emotional farewell.
"This is how I'm going to remember you Janecita. Loving life with your kids and happy at the highest of mountains," Ms Bello wrote.
"I will always remember you with tremendous admiration."
One of the Indian passengers, Sonu Jaiswal, was travelling to Pokhara with friends to visit a Hindu shrine.
He was live streaming the plane's landing on Facebook when the crash took place.
The two Korean victims are believed to have been a father in his 40s with the surname Yu and his teenaged son, according to flight records.
Their bodies were identified based on their belongings.
A timeline of Nepal's deadly aircraft crashes
Nearly 350 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal since 2000.
Here's a timeline of those crashes, compiled by Reuters News Agency:
- May 29, 2022: Sixteen Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans died on a De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter aircraft that crashed 15 minutes after taking off from Pokhara, 125km west of Kathmandu. Operated by Yeti unit Tara Air, the aircraft made its first flight in April 1979, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24
- February 27, 2019: A helicopter crashed in bad weather in eastern Nepal, killing all seven people on board, including the tourism minister
- March 12, 2018: Fifty-one of 71 people on a Bangladeshi airliner operated by US-Bangla Airlines died when it crashed in cloudy weather as it came in to land at the Nepalese capital's hill-ringed airport. It was a Bombardier Q400 series aircraft.
- February 26, 2016: Two people were feared dead after a small plane crashed in western Nepal's Kalikot district. It was operated by Kasthamandap Airlines
- February 24, 2016: A small plane crashed in bad weather, killing all 23 people on board. The Twin Otter aircraft, operated by Tara Air, was on a flight from Pokhara
- February 16, 2014: All 18 people on a small plane that crashed in bad weather were killed. The Twin Otter aircraft was operated by state-run Nepal Airlines Corp
- September 28, 2012: A small propeller-driven Dornier aircraft struck a bird and crashed shortly after take-off from Kathmandu, killing 19 people, including seven British and five Chinese passengers
- September 25, 2011: A small plane carrying foreign tourists to view Mount Everest crashed in bad weather near Kathmandu, killing all 19 people on board. The Beech aircraft was operated by private airline Buddha Air
- December 16, 2010: A small plane crashed in the Himalayan foothills of remote east Nepal, killing all 22 people onboard. The Twin Otter aircraft was operated by Tara Air
- August 24, 2010: Fourteen people — including four Americans, a Japanese and British national — were killed when their small plane crashed in bad weather in Nepal. It was operated by privately held Agni Air
- October 8, 2008: A small Twin Otter plane crashed in the remote mountains of north-east Nepal, killing at least 18 people, mostly foreigners
- March 4, 2008: Four UN arms monitors were among at least 10 people killed in a helicopter crash in Nepal
- June 21, 2006: A Twin Otter passenger plane operated by Yeti Airlines crashed minutes before landing in the west of the country, killing all nine people onboard
- May 25, 2004: A Twin Otter cargo plane crashed in the Mount Everest region, killing its three crew. It was operated by Yeti Airlines
- August 22, 2002: Another Twin Otter plane, carrying foreign tourists, slammed into a mountain in bad weather in Nepal, killing all 18 people on board. It was operated by Shangrila Air
- July 17, 2002: Four people were feared dead after a twin-engined aircraft crashed into a mountain in west Nepal minutes before it was due to land
- July 27, 2000: A Canadian-built Twin Otter passenger plane crashed in western Nepal, killing all 25 people on board. It was operated by state-owned Royal Nepal Airlines
ABC/Reuters
