KATHMANDU (Reuters) – At least 16 people were killed on Sunday after an aircraft crashed in western Nepal’s Pokhara, an army spokesman said, as hundreds of rescue workers scoured the hillside crash site.

“”We expect to recover more bodies,” Krishna Bhandari told Reuters. “The plane has broken into pieces.”

There were 72 people on the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Yeti Airlines and flying from Kathmandu, capital of the small Himalayan country, said an airport official.

Local television showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers and crowds of people gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft.