Nepal air crash: Who were the victims?

JAN 18: Officials said 53 of the passengers were Nepalese, along with five Indians, four Russians and two Koreans. Others on board are reported to have included one passenger each from the UK, Australia, Argentina and France.

The plane came down in a gorge near the airport of Pokhara, a tourist town. It is not yet known what caused the crash.

However searchers have recovered the Yeti Airlines plane's voice and flight data recorders and both are said to be in good condition.

Here are some of those on board who lost their lives.

Australian Myron Love

Australian authorities have confirmed Sydney teacher Myron Love, 29, was among those killed.

Friends have paid tribute to avid cyclist and surfer as a "truly kind, fun, energetic man", with one telling local media he had "never met a more genuine bloke in my life".

In a statement, his family said Myron had been their rock.

"He has put so much into his short life that most of us couldn't fit into our lifetime."

A South Korean soldier and his son
The 45-year-old father surnamed Yoo was a sergeant in the South Korean army. He was on holiday with his 14-year-old son during the son's winter break from school.

The two left South Korea on 14 January for a hiking trip in the Himalayas. They had been messaging their families on the day when the incident happened, but the families didn't hear anything from them after the flight's scheduled arrival time passed, South Korean media reported.

They told their families that they travelled from India to Nepal that day. They had planned to visit several places in Nepal, the reports said.

Sonu Jaiswal, Abhishek Kushwaha, Anil Rajbhar and Vishal Sharma

The four men, all thought to be in their 20s or early 30s, were from Ghazipur in India's Uttar Pradesh state. They were among five Indians on board.

Locals in Ghazipur said they had gone to Nepal on 13 January to visit the Pashupatinath temple, a grand shrine on the outskirts of Kathmandu which is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.

The trip was reportedly Jaiswal's idea - a father of three, he wanted to pray at the temple for another son.

They planned to go paragliding in Pokhara. Jaiswal was livestreaming as the plane came in to land.

Several villagers remembered the four men as "kind, fun-loving souls".

Co-pilot Anju Khatiwada

Anju Khatiwada was co-piloting Yeti Airlines flight 691. A trailblazer, Anju was one of just six women employed by the airline as pilots, and had flown close to 6,400 hours.

"She was a full captain at the airline who had done solo flights," Sudarshan Bartaula from Yeti Airlines said. "She was a brave woman."

It has emerged that her husband Dipak Pokhrel had also been co-piloting a Yeti Airlines flight when it crashed in 2006 - and it was his death that spurred Anju to pursue a career in aviation.

Singer Nira Chhantyal

Nira was a singer who often flew with Yeti Airlines. Low cost air travel has become an affordable and popular way for Nepal's middle class to traverse the mountainous nation.

Nira, who had moved to Kathmandu, had been on the fight on her way to perform at a music festival in Pokhara.

"She was a very talented artist, and used to sing folk songs. She would often sing spontaneously," her friend Bhimsen told the BBC.

"I have no words to describe the loss." (with inputs from BBC)