LAST UPDATE | 16 Jan 2023

THE DEPARTMENT OF Foreign Affairs has said that a man who died in the plane crash in Nepal, first believed to be Irish, was a UK national.

A list of passengers released by Nepal’s aviation authority detailed that most of the passengers on the flight that crashed yesterday were from Nepal, while 15 were from other countries.

The aviation authority listed that a man named Ruan Calum Crighton was travelling with an Irish passport, with other foreign passengers coming from India, Russia, Korea, Australia, Argentina and France.

#YetiAirlines #9N-ANC #Crash
Detail of passenger on board. pic.twitter.com/G06jtkP2oa

— Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (@hello_CAANepal) January 15, 2023

However, the Department of Foreign Affairs – which previously said it was aware of reports of an Irish citizen – has released an updated statement this afternoon saying that the victim was a UK national. He was travelling with a UK passport.

Additionally, the passenger list released by the Nepalese aviation authority includes a passport number that follows the British format of nine numbers, rather than the Irish format that uses letters and numbers.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs can confirm that an individual indicated in reports as being Irish is a UK national,” the department said.

“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.”

Previously, the Department of Foreign Affairs had said it was “aware of reports of the involvement of an Irish citizen in an airplane crash in Nepal” and was “ready to provide consular assistance if requested”. 

68 bodies have been recovered so far from the ATR 72 crash, which occurred near the tourist city of Pokhara.

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The plane was carrying 72 people but a chief district officer has described their hopes of finding anyone alive as “nil”. 

The ATR 72 was flying from Kathmandu, the country’s capital, when it crashed into a gorge between Pokhara’s new international airport and an older domestic airport.

Officials have confirmed that the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have both been found in good condition.