Plane that went missing in Nepal found crashed, 14 bodies recovered

Officials stated that rescuers exploring a mountaintop in Nepal found the bodies of 17 of the 22 passengers who were on board a plane that had gone missing on Sunday. As per reports, the plane crashed and the authorities are looking for survivors.

The search for the remaining passengers is still on, according to airline spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula.

Rescuers fear some bodies are pinned beneath the plane's debris. Bartaula claims that rescuers working with their bare hands have been unable to move the metal debris.

On Sunday, a Tara Air turboprop Twin Otter lost touch with the airport tower while flying in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops on a scheduled 20-minute journey.

According to Tara Air, the plane also carried four Indians and two Germans while the three crew members and other passengers were all Nepalese.

As per reports, the wreckage was discovered by villagers who were hunting the area for the Yarsagumba fungus, also known as Himalayan Viagra.

A villager, Bishal Magar, was quoted on the Setopati new website as stating that they learned about the missing jet on Sunday but were only able to find it on Monday morning after tracking the scent of fuel.

Magar stated the plane appeared to have clipped the top of a smaller mountain before crashing into a larger one.

Two Nepali families, one with four members and the other with seven, were among the passengers, according to local news reports.

Aircraft pieces were spread over rocks and moss on the side of a mountain gorge in aerial images of the crash site.

The plane crashed in Sanosware, Mustang district, near the mountain town of Jomsom, where it was headed after taking off from Pokhara, 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, according to the army.

The 43-year-old aircraft took off from Pokhara at 9:55 a.m. and broadcast its last signal at 10:07 a.m. at an altitude of 12,825 feet, according to flightradar24.com (3,900 meters).

Foreign hikers who walk the plane's mountain pathways, as well as Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the famed Muktinath shrine, flock to the plane's destination.

According to aviationnepal.com, the Twin Otter, a tough plane originally designed by Canadian aircraft company De Havilland, has been in service in Nepal for approximately 50 years and has been involved in about 21 accidents.

The plane is regarded for its durability and ability to take off and land on short runways, thanks to its top-mounted wing and fixed landing gear.

The planes were originally produced until the 1980s, when they were discontinued. In 2010, Viking Air, a Canadian manufacturer, brought the aircraft back into production.