Plane with 22 on board missing in Nepal’s mountains
A search is under way for the Twin Otter aircraft, which had been on a 15-minute scheduled flight to the town of Jomsom.
A small plane flying on a popular tourist route with 22 people on board is missing in Nepal’s mountains, an official said on Sunday.
The Tara Air plane, which was on a 15-minute scheduled flight to the mountain town of Jomsom, took off from the resort town of Pokhara, 125 miles (200km) east of Kathmandu. It lost contact with the airport tower shortly afterwards.
Police official Ramesh Thapa said there was no information on the turboprop Twin Otter plane and a search is under way.
There were six foreigners on board the plane, including four Indians and two Germans, a police official said.
Planes on that route fly between mountains before landing in a valley.
It is a popular route with foreign hikers who trek on the mountain trails and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple.
According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43-year-old aircraft took off from Pokhara at 0410 GMT and transmitted its last signal at 0422 GMT at an altitude of 12,825ft (3,900 metres).
In 2016, a Tara Air Twin Otter flying the same route crashed after take-off, killing all 23 people aboard.
In 2012, an Agni Air plane also flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed, killing 15 people. Six people survived.
In 2014, a Nepal Airlines plane flying from Pokhara to Jumla crashed, killing all 18 on board.
In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people aboard.
