- At least 68 people were killed in a plane crash near Pokhara, Nepal on Sunday.
- The victims include a Nepali folk singer, an Argentinian hotelier and a Russian travel blogger.
- Some of them posted on social media less than an hour before the deadly accident occurred.
At least 68 passengers died in a plane crash on Sunday in central Nepal, and information is beginning to emerge about who they were.
The flight, operated by Nepalese airline Yeti Airlines, crashed near Pokhara airport at around 10:50 a.m., Reuters reported. It was only meant to last 30 minutes.
Four crew members and 68 passengers were on board the ATR 72 aircraft. The dead included a Nepali folk singer, a Russian travel blogger and an Argentine hotelier.
Nepali folk singer Nira Chhantyal
Nira Chhantyal, the folk singer, was traveling to Pokhara to perform at an event on Monday, according to her Facebook page.
She had 125,100 followers on Tiktok, where she posted videos of herself singing, dancing, and lip-syncing to songs in Nepali.
He posted a celebratory greeting for Nepal’s Maghe Sankranti festival on Facebook on Sunday, less than an hour before the accident.
On Saturday, Chhantyal posted a series of photos of her singing and posing at a community event in Kathmandu. “Now we will enjoy Pokhara tomorrow,” she wrote.
Russian travel blogger Elena Banduro
Elena Banduro, a 33-year-old travel blogger, posted a selfie of herself on a plane with the caption: “Go to Nepal!” before the plane crashed, according to the British news site Metro.
She worked as a social media manager for a software company, according to her Facebook page. She documented her travels through Russia, Europe and Asia on her Instagram page and her blog.
Banduro was one of four Russians in the accident. The Russian ambassador to Nepal, Alexei Novikov, confirmed that the four Russians had been killed, according to the state news agency TASS.
Argentine hotelier Jannet Palavecino
Jannet Palavecino was the manager of the Hotel Suizo in the city of Neuquén, according to her Facebook page. Her page described her as a lover of cycling, mountains, gardening and painting.
Palavecino was 57 years old, according to the Argentine newspaper Clarín.
The governor of the province of Neuquén, Omar Gutiérrez, tweeted his condolences for the death of Palavecino on Sunday. “We will miss you and will always keep you in our memory,” he wrote.
The local Neuquén soccer club, Atlético Pacífico, wrote on Facebook that Palavecino was the sister of its former president, Omar Palavecino.
“From the football subcommittee we send our condolences to Omar and family and we accompany them in this difficult moment,” the club wrote.