Warning: This article contains footage that some readers may find distressing.
Haunting footage posted to social media shows the final moments of a plane crash that killed at least 68 people on board.
In January 2023, it was reported that the aircraft ATR 72, operated by Nepalese company Yeti Airlines, crashed while traveling from Nepal's capital city Kathmandu to Pokhara near the Himalayas.
It was spotted flying extremely low before spinning out of control and then smashing into a hill over a gorge, per Sky News, who also added that the cause behind one of the worst plane crashes in the country's entire history was caused by the pilots mistakenly cutting power leading to an aerodynamic stall.
In a separate report by Reuters, Dipak Prasad Bastola, an aeronautical engineer and a member of an investigating panel who looked into the incident, blamed it on a lack of awareness and a lack of standard operating procedures.
This led the engine to "run idle and not produce thrust", Bastola told the outlet. "But due to its momentum, the aircraft flew for up to 49 seconds before hitting the ground."
A total of 72 people were pronounced dead.
Harrowing footage of the final moments of the tragedy was filmed by an Indian man on board called Sonu Jaiswal and shows passengers smiling as the plane flies over houses.
The clip continues to film the surroundings before the camera suddenly starts to shake and passengers can be heard shouting. The screen then goes black with a loud bang sounding in the background, before flames light up the frame in a blazing orange color.
Watch Jaiswal's haunting video below:Times of India spoke to Jaiswal's cousin, Rajat Jaiswal, about the footage who said: "Sonu was on Facebook live after boarding the flight for Pokhara. The live-streaming showed that Sonu and his companions were in a happy mood but all of a sudden flames appeared before the streaming stopped."
The video was reposted to Twitter (better known now as X) and has elicited strong reactions from social media users.
"The worst kind of death is the one where you spend some time knowing you’re gonna die any minute now and there’s nothing you can do about it. Terrifying," one user wrote, while another added: "In flat 7 secs all was over..."
At the time, eyewitnesses who saw the incident described the sight in detail.
Speaking to Reuters, local resident Bishnu Tiwari, who rushed to the crash site near the Seti River to help search for bodies, stated that due to the thick smoke and the raging flames, it was difficult to continue the search.
"The flames were so hot that we couldn't go near the wreckage. I heard a man crying for help, but because of the flames and smoke we couldn't help him," Tiwari said.
Arun Tamu, another local resident also added: "Half of the plane is on the hillside. The other half has fallen into the gorge of the Seti river."
Khum Bahadur Chhetri also spoke to the outlet, telling them that he watched from the roof of his house as the flight approached.
"I saw the plane trembling, moving left and right, and then suddenly its nose dived and it went into the gorge," Chhetri said, adding that local residents took two passengers to a hospital, but unfortunately they passed away.
The crash was the worst crash in Nepal for 30 years.
