Brit confirmed among 72 dead in Nepal plane crash after aircraft exploded
An award-winning British ballet dancer was one of the 72 passengers on the plane that crashed in Nepal on Sunday, it has been confirmed.
Ruan Calum Crighton, 34, died along with 71 other passengers and crew in the Yeti Airlines disaster on Sunday.
The ATR 72 was travelling from Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokahara when it crashed into a gorge.
Ruan, from Brentwood, Essex, was a talented dancer who performed with the Slovak and Finnish national ballets.
He was initially described as Irish by authorities in Nepal, but was travelling with a UK passport.
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His was among the names of passengers published by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
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."
The crash was the nation's deadliest aviation disaster in three decades (AFP via Getty Images)According to his LinkedIn profile, most recently Mr Crighton had been studying physiotherapy in Amsterdam.
Ruan, who studied at London’s Central School of Ballet, was interviewed about his burgeoning career in 2014.
He told the BBC he fell in love with ballet after being made to take classes while learning gymnastics.
A spokeswoman for the Central School of Ballet said they had been advised not to comment by Ruan’s family.
The FCDO said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Nepal and are in contact with the local authorities.”
It is believed Ruan was on a trip to celebrate his 34th birthday.
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Seventy-two people - including four crew members - were on board the Yeti Airlines flight from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara, with the death toll rising to 68 on Sunday.
Rescuers stand by the wreckage of the plane in Nepal (Anish Bhattarai/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Fifteen foreign nationals were among those on board, according to Nepal's aviation authority.
It was not clear what caused the crash, which was Nepal's worst air accident in three decades.
The flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder have been retrieved from the site.
The aviation authority said the aircraft last made contact with the airport, which began operations only two weeks ago, from near Seti Gorge before crashing.
A witness who recorded footage of the plane's descent said it looked like a normal landing until the plane suddenly veered to the left.
"I saw that, and I was shocked," said Diwas Bohora. “I thought that today everything will be finished here after it crashes, I will also be dead.”
There were 72 people on board, including crew members (AFP via Getty Images)After it crashed, red flames erupted and the ground shook violently, Bohora said. “Seeing that scene, I was scared,” he added.
Amit Singh, an experienced pilot and founder of India’s Safety Matters Foundation, said Bohora's video appears to show a stall, a situation in which a plane loses lift, especially likely at low airspeeds.
The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines, was completing the 27-minute flight from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west.
It was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, as well as four crew members, Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.
The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.
Jagannath Niraula, a spokesman for the authority, said the flight recorders will be handed over to investigators.
Pemba Sherpa, a spokesperson for Yeti Airlines, confirmed that both the flight data and the cockpit voice recorders were found.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest.
A pilot who routinely flies an ATR 72-500 plane from India to Nepal said the region’s topography, with its mountain peaks and narrow valleys, raises the risk of accidents and sometimes requires pilots to fly by sight rather than relying on instruments.
The pilot, who works for a private Indian airline and insisted on anonymity due to company policy, called the ATR 72-500 an “unforgiving aircraft” if the pilot isn’t highly skilled and familiar with the region’s terrain and wind speeds.
The tragedy happened on Sunday (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Hundreds of people have gathered outside the Pokhara Academy of Health and Science, Western Hospital, where the bodies are being kept.
Bimala Bhenderi said was planning to meet her friend, Tribhuban Paudel, on Tuesday when she heard that his flight had crashed. “I’m so sad, I can’t believe it still,” she said in tears.
Bikash Jaiswal said he could only identify his wife's brother only by the ring he wore, and that he had yet to tell his wife, who just gave birth to their daughter.
Sanjay Jaiswal, who worked as a marketing agent for a private pharmaceutical company in Kathmandu, was flying to Pokhara for the birth.
More than 24 hours after the crash, his body lay in the same hospital where his niece was born.
“He was a hardworking person, and now there’s no one left in his family to earn,” Bikash said.
A distressing video shows the plane moments before it crashed (Twitter)Park Dae-seong, a minister and spokesperson of the Won Buddhist order, confirmed on Monday the deaths of Arun Paudel and his daughter, Prasiddi.
Arun Paudel, 47, had worked as a police officer in Nepal before being introduced into the religion by his brother.
He studied the religion for years at a South Korean university before becoming a minister in 2009. He then returned to Nepal and established a school in the Lumbini province in 2013 where children received English, Korean and information technology instruction.
Park said Paudel was returning to Nepal for work related to the school, called the Vishow Ekata Academy.
The Civil Aviation Authority said that 41 people have been identified. Gyan Khadka, a police spokesperson in the district, said the bodies would be handed over to family after officials finish post mortem reports.
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