Two US citizens and two US lawful permanent residents are among those killed in the tragic Yeti Airline plane crash in Nepal on Sunday, the State Department confirmed Wednesday.

Spokesman Ned Price confirmed that the four US citizens and residents were on board, but did not disclose their identities.

“Our thoughts are with the families of those on board. The United States stands ready to support Nepal in any way we can at this difficult time,” Price said at the start of a news conference on Wednesday.

In initial reports, there was no mention that the Americans had been aboard Nepal’s deadliest plane crash in 30 years.

There were 68 passengers, including those from India, Russia, South Korea, Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France, and four crew members on the plane when it plunged into a gorge during a landing at the newly opened Pokhara International Airport in the foothills of the Himalayas. None survived.
Little is known about the cause of the accident. Conditions were good and clear and co-pilot Anju Khatiwada had over 6,400 hours of flight time, but Nepal is known to be a tough place to fly.

Nepalese authorities will send the flight data recorders, or black boxes found, to France as part of the investigation.

Video taken inside the plane captured smiling passenger Sonu Jaiswal moments before the tragic collision. The camera appears to show the plane tilting, causing many passengers to scream, before the ship bursts into flames.
Other video taken from the ground shows the flight taking a dramatic sideways turn as it plunges toward the ground, but out of camera view, followed by a massive bang and several screams of horror.

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