IN PHOTOS | Nepal's deadliest aviation disaster in three decades

Nepal has had a fraught record of aviation accidents, partly due to its sudden weather changes and airstrips located in hard-to-access rocky terrains.

At least 69 people were confirmed dead when a plane with 72 on board crashed into a river gorge in Nepal while landing at the newly-opened airport in the resort city of Pokhara (Photo | AP) 

Rescuers combed through the debris scattered down a 984-foot-deep gorge.Debris from the airliner was strewn across the crash site, including the mangled remains of passenger seats and the plane's white-coloured fuselage (Photo | AP)

The aircraft took off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am and crashed on the Seti river bank, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Photo | AP)

'The landing clearance of that plane had also been obtained. The weather was also fine. Everything was fine then how the accident happened is a matter of investigation,' said Premnath Thakur, General Manager, Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu (Photo | AP)

Five Indians were among the total 10 foreign nationals onboard the plane (Photo | AP)

Of the five Indians, four were planning to participate in paragliding activities in the tourist hub of Pokhara, said a local resident, who travelled with them to Nepal (Photo | AP)

In footage taken by a passenger out of a window as the plane came in for a landing, buildings, roads and greenery are visible below. The video, by Sonu Jaiswal and verified by The Associated Press, then shows a violent jolt and a series of jerky images accompanied by yelling before flames fill the screen (Photo | AP)

Nepal has witnessed 42 fatal plane crashes since 1946, owing to the tricky terrain, poor maintenance, and insufficient training (Photo | AP)

The country also has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, with approaches flanked by towering mountains that challenge even accomplished pilots (Photo | AP)

Hundreds of people have gathered outside the Pokhara Academy of Health and Science, Western Hospital, where the bodies are being kept (Photo | AP)

The government announced that a five-member committee will be formed to probe the accident (Photo | AP)

Sunday's crash is the country's deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it plowed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu (Photo | AP)