Searchers have found both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from a passenger flight that crashed yesterday, killing at least 68 people in Nepal's deadliest plane crash in 30 years, officials said.
The data on the recorders may help investigators determine what caused the ATR 72 aircraft, carrying 72 people, to crash in clear weather just before landing in the tourist city of Pokhara.
A Kathmandu Airport official, said the so-called black boxes "are in a good condition now. They look good from outside."
Rescuers were battling cloudy weather and poor visibility as they searched the river gorge for passengers who are unaccounted for, more than 24 hours after the crash. Sixty-eight bodies have been recovered.
The plane, on a scheduled flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara, gateway to the scenic Annapurna mountain range, was carrying 57 Nepalis, five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one person each from Argentina, Australia and France.
It has been confirmed that a passenger on the plane who was described as Irish by Nepalese authorities is a UK national.
He has been named as Ruan Calum Crighton.
His name was on the list of passengers published by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, where his nationality was listed as Irish.
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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."
Deadly aircraft crashes common in mountainous Nepal
Nepal has declared a day of national mourning today and set up a panel to investigate the disaster and suggest measures to avoid such incidents in the future.
Authorities said bodies will be handed over to families after identification and examination.
Anju Khatiwada, the co-pilot of Sunday's ill-fated aircraft, lost her husband Dipak Pokhrel in a similar crash in 2006. Ms Khatiwada's remains have not been identified but she is feared dead.
Nearly 350 people have died since 2000 in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal - home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest - where sudden weather changes can make for hazardous conditions.
