Nepal: A flight with 22 passengers on board has disappeared

On Sunday, a small plane carrying 22 people went missing in Nepal’s Himalayas while travelling on a famous tourist route.

The Tara Airlines plane took off from Pokhara, 200 kilometers east of Kathmandu, on a 15-minute scheduled flight to the alpine town of Jomsom.

Shortly after takeoff, it lost touch with the airport tower.

Ramesh Thapa, a police official, said there was no information about the Twin Otter plane and that a search was underway.

There were 19 passengers and three crew members on board, he said.

Two helicopters were deployed for a search effort, according to Phanindra Mani Pokharel, a spokesperson for the home affairs ministry, but visibility was poor.

“A domestic flight bound for Jomsom from Pokhara has lost contact,” Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesman for Tara Air said.

“The bad weather is likely to hamper the search operation. The visibility is so poor that nothing can be seen,” Pokharel said.

Six foreigners were on board the jet, including four Indians and two Germans, according to a police official.

Villagers witnessed an aircraft on fire at the source of the Lyanku Khola River, at the foot of the Himalayan mountain Manapathi, in a district bordering Tibet, according to Nepal Television.

A Tara Airlines Twin Otter that was travelling the same route in 2016 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 23 passengers on board.

“One search helicopter returned to Jomsom due to bad weather without locating the plane,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal stated.

“Helicopters are ready to take off for search from Kathmandu, Pokhara and Jomsom once weather conditions improve. Army and police search teams have left towards the site.”

An Agni Air flight from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed in 2012, killing 15 people. Six people made it out alive.

A Nepal Airlines flight from Pokhara to Jumla crashed in 2014, killing all 18 people on board.