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For Australian Myron Love and his soul mate Annabelle Bailey, 2023 was meant to be the year they “adventured across the globe” and moved abroad together.
After spending the first few weeks of the New Year cycling through Thailand with friends, Love, 29, ventured to Nepal, where she intended to spend a few days exploring before meeting Bailey in Muscat, Oman, on the 20th. from January.
But his future plans were shattered when Mr Love’s flight on January 15 from Kathmandu to the resort city of Pokhara crashed while landing, killing all 72 on board.
Friend Nicole Kaminski said Mr Love had just attended a yoga retreat in Kathmandu and was only days away from meeting his “soul mate”.
“Myron was about to embark on a hiking and trail adventure,” he wrote in a post. GoFundMe page.
Myron Love and his partner Annabelle Bailey (pictured together) were about to spend this year living abroad together.
‘This was meant to be the year that [Mr Myron and Ms Bailey] they ventured all over the world and lived abroad together.
Ms. Kaminski said that Mr. Love was an “energetic teacher” loved by all of his colleagues and students.
She said her “greatest loves were her family and Annabelle, her salty dog friends, her lycra-clad cycling buddies and her impossibly large circle of friends.”
The ‘unfathomable’ news came as a shock to many in her community, Ms Kaminski wrote, and her loved ones were comforted to see ‘how many hearts she touched’ in her life.
Myron will be remembered by those who knew him for his infectious energy, his fun sense of humor, his love of the ocean and surfing, his grueling bike rides, his costumes, his love for Annabelle, and for never wasting a minute of the day. . ‘ she wrote.
‘It really was one of a kind.’
The fundraiser surpassed its goal of $15,000, attracting $49,431 in the 24 hours since it was created on Saturday.
The doomed Yeti Airlines flight ATR72 was approaching to land at the newly opened Pokhara airport last Sunday when it crashed into a gorge.
Crowds gather at the crash site of a plane carrying 72 people in Pokhara, western Nepal.
A photo posted on Instagram shows Mr. Love enjoying a New Years trip to Thailand with friends.
Mr Love has been remembered for his ‘infectious energy’ and ‘hilarious sense of humour’
Love was among 15 non-Nepalese nationals aboard the domestic flight, along with five Indians, four Russians, one Irishman, two South Koreans, one Frenchman and one Argentine.
The latest photos of Mr Love posted online showed him celebrating the New Year in Thailand with a group of friends, cycling through the countryside and drinking beers in a Chiang Mai bar.
On Tuesday, the family of Mr. Love and Ms. Bailey released a statement expressing their “deep gratitude” for the incredible support of their inner circle during their time of need.
“Myron has been a rock to both of our families for many years and has always lived his life to the fullest,” they said.
He has put so much into his short life that most of us could not fit into our life.
“We ask you at this time to offer us peace and privacy so that we can grieve and deal with this tragedy.”
About 200 km west of the capital of Nepal, Pokhara is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular trekking route in the Himalayas.
Nepalese authorities initially reported 68 people dead and four missing, raising hopes some passengers were alive, until later investigations confirmed there were no survivors.
The plane, operated by the national carrier Yeti Airlines (pictured), was 15 years old, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24.
The horrific accident was the worst air disaster for the small Himalayan nation in three decades.
Plane crashes are not uncommon in Nepal due to its mountainous terrain, which can cause sudden weather changes and create dangerous conditions.
The nation’s aviation industry has also been plagued by a lack of security due to insufficient training and maintenance, with the European Union banning all Nepali carriers from its airspace on safety grounds.
Nepalese authorities have begun repatriating the bodies and have sent the aircraft’s data recorder to France, where the aircraft’s manufacturer ATR is based, for analysis.
The accident is the deadliest in Nepal since March 2018, when a US-Bangla Dash 8 turboprop flight from Dhaka crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 51 of 71 people on board, according to Aviation Safety Network.
In May 2022, all 22 people died on board a plane operated by the Nepalese airline Tara Air, including 16 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans, when it crashed on a slope.
Rescuers gather at the site of the fatal plane crash in Pokhara on Sunday.