A talented British ballet dancer died in the Nepal plane crash just one day after his 34th birthday.
Ruan Crighton, from Brentwood, Essex, was listed as the 12th passenger on the doomed Yeti Airlines ATR72 flight that crashed into a gauge and caught fire as it approached the central city of Pokhara on Sunday.
It comes as the rescue team searching the wreckage declared that the chances of finding any survivors among the plane’s 72 passengers are now nil.
Mr Crighton was initially reported to be from Ireland, but the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday that he was a British national traveling with a British passport.
Mr Crighton, a British national, died in Nepal, according to the UK Foreign Office, and his family is being assisted by specialist officers.
Mr Crighton died on January 14, just one day after celebrating his 34th birthday.
His death has been met with deep sadness throughout Europe’s ballet community.
Mr. Crighton began his ballet career at the Central School of Ballet in London in 2005 before moving on to the Slovak National Theatre in Slovakia from 2008 to 2013.
He then worked as a valued member of the prestigious Finnish National Opera and Ballet company in Finland before enrolling at the European School of Physiotherapy in Amsterdam. He was scheduled to graduate the following year.
A friend and fellow dancer at the Slovak National Theatre told the Irish Daily Mail that his death devastated him.
‘I got the info yesterday, but i was hoping it wasn’t him,’ he said.
‘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.’
Johanna Järventaus, Communications Director of Finnish National Opera and Ballet, said she was aware of the tragedy.
source:nsemwokrom.com