The wreckage of a missing plane with 22 people on board has been found in the mountains of Nepal’s Mustang district, the army said on Monday.
Nearly 24 hours after he disappeared, search and rescue forces were able to “physically locate” the crash site in Sanosouer, Tasang-2, Nepal’s army spokesman Brigadier General Narayan Silval said on Twitter.
To date, fourteen bodies have been found at the crash site, and rescuers are still searching for others. The government suspects all passengers on board have “lost their lives”, Interior Ministry spokesman Fadindra Mani Pohrel told the ANI news agency.
“Our preliminary assessment shows that no one was able to survive the plane crash, but an official statement is expected.
Sudarshan Bartuala, an airline spokesman, told The Kathmandu Post that “the bodies were scattered within a radius of 100 meters from the main point of impact.”
The army shared a photo from the crash site showing the wreckage of the small plane scattered on the mountainside.
“Letent Mangal Shresta, police inspector and guide, have already arrived. Other members of the rescue team from various agencies are trying to reach the sites with the help of small helicopters, “said Mr. Silval.
“All possible ways to reach the site are being considered.”
The crash site of a Tara Air twin-engine plane on a rock in the village of Tasang
(EPA)
The Canadian-made DHC-6-300, with four Indians, two Germans and 16 Nepalese on board, took a 20-minute flight from the resort town of Pokhara, 200km west of the capital Kathmandu, to the mountain town of Jomsom.
The Twin Otter turboprop plane lost contact with the airport tower minutes after flying over an area with deep river gorges and mountain peaks.
The hull was tracked to an altitude of 14,500 feet using GPS coordinates from the phone of the pilot, Captain Prabhakar Gimire, who was found to ring even after the crash.
“Captain Gimire’s mobile phone from the missing plane rang and a Nepalese army helicopter landed in the area of the possible crash after tracking the Nepal Telecom captain’s phone,” said Prem Nat Thakur, general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. .
Search efforts resumed on Monday after bad weather prevented the army and other rescue teams from conducting the operation on Sunday.
Relatives of passengers aboard the Twin Otter aircraft operated by Tara Air mourn in front of Pokhara Airport
(AFP via Getty Images)
Despite unfavorable weather conditions in the Dhaulagiri area, security forces patrols and groups of locals continued to search on foot.
Nepal Civil Aviation Authority (CAAN) spokesman Deo Chandra Lal Karna said five helicopters were ready to help with the rescue process.
The Mustang region of the Himalayan nation is home to the Muktinat temple.
Tara Air operates a fleet of six STOL short take-off and landing aircraft, including four Twin Otter (DHC 6/300) and two Dornier (DO 228) aircraft, according to the company’s website.
In 2016, a Twin Otter plane on Tara Airlines, flying the same route, crashed, killing all 23 on board.
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