Pictured: Brit feared dead in Nepal plane crash
16 January 2023, 16:27 | Updated: 16 January 2023, 17:41
A passenger on the plane which crashed in Nepal on Sunday has been named as UK national Ryan Calum Crighton.
Mr Crighton's name was on a list of passengers published by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, where his nationality was listed as Irish, thought he was travelling on a UK passport.
It is understood Mr Crighton had only celebrated his 34th birthday, which fell on January 14 - the day before the crash.
Mr Crighton, a talented ballet dancer, spent several years at the Central School of Ballet in London in 2005, before moving to Slovakia to become a dancer with the Slovak National Theatre in Slovakia until 2013.
A friend and dancer of Mr Crighton at Slovak National Theatre paid tribute to his late friend.
"I got the info yesterday, but I was hoping it wasn't him," he told the Irish Daily Mail.
"Ruan was one of my best friends. We dance together on stage for years… I'm devastated. It is very hard to say something about [him] right now. But first he was a sunshine."
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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."
An FCDO spokesman said: "We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Nepal and are in contact with the local authorities."
Some 74 people were on board the Yeti Airlines flight from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara, with the death toll rising to 68 on Sunday.
It is believed fifteen foreign nationals were among those on board, according to Nepal's aviation authority.
It is not yet clear what caused the crash, which is Nepal's air crash in 30 years.
