A passenger on the tragic Yeti Airlines Flight 691 recorded video of the last seconds of the flight before he and his buddies were killed in the fatal crash.
According to The Guardian and the BBC, Sonu Jaiswal, an Indian father of three who is 29, was live-streaming the plane’s descent into Nepal on Sunday when it abruptly crashed.
The man can be seen grinning while showcasing the scenery below the plane in the video, which PEOPLE was able to witness, just before the passengers appear to start to fear. Screams and other sounds resembling a crash can be heard in the background as the image abruptly goes out, and then flames can be seen engulfing the airplane on the screen.
According to Vishal Koswal, 21, who spoke with The Guardian, Jaiswal was traveling with three other guys from the Uttar Pradeshi region of Ghazipur at the time of the accident: Anil Rajbhar, 28, Vishal Sharma, 23, and Abhishek Singh Kushwaha, 23.
According to the outlet, local authorities have confirmed that the four Indian males were among the collision casualties on Sunday.
According to the sources, the 72 passengers, including six children, on board the airplane are all thought to be dead.
Koswal claimed to The Guardian that he had several video calls prior to the crash with Jaiswal. Sonu was clearly excited while on the phone and was pointing out the mountains to us.
Koswal had initially intended to travel to Nepal with his buddies, but after a relative passed away, he decided to stay at home. He claimed that to him, his four buddies who perished in the collision were like “brothers.”
According to The Guardian, he stated, “This all seems like a nightmare, I still cannot believe we have lost all of them.” “It hurts so bad and I can’t watch that crash footage again. A terrible disaster has befallen us.”
According to the claims, Nepalese aviation officials have not attested to the veracity of the footage that Jaiswal reportedly shot.
However, according to the BBC, former Nepali politician Abhishek Pratap Shah informed the Indian news outlet NDTV that the video “is a legitimate record” of the disaster. Rescuers, he claimed rescuers have located the phone that recorded the clip among the wreckage.
NBC News claims to have independently confirmed the footage’s veracity.
According to CBS News, Dhirendra Pratap Singh of the India’s Bersar Police Station also got the men’s families to authenticate their identities.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, there were 15 foreigners in total aboard the aircraft on Sunday, including five from India, four from Russia, two from South Korea, one from Ireland, one from Australia, one from Argentina, and one from France (CAAN).
According to The Guardian, Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal designated Monday a day of national mourning.
According to The Guardian and Reuters, this is the deadliest aviation accident to affect Nepal since Pakistan International Airlines’ 1992 crash in Kathmandu, which claimed 167 lives.
According to Reuters and Bloomberg, the European Union prohibited all Nepal-based aircraft from using its airspace in 2013 due to “safety” concerns. However, Nepali authorities have been seeking to lift the restriction.
According to CAAN spokesperson Jagannath Niroula, who talked to The Himalayan Times in September 2022, Nepal will probably be taken off the list of countries with low air safety standards soon.