(Kathmandu) The damaged carcass of the plane reported missing on Sunday in the Nepalese mountains was found on Monday, confirmed a military official. No information about possible survivors has been provided.
Posted at 11:04 p.m.
The military posted an aerial photograph of the crash site on Twitter, where parts of the aircraft can be seen strewn across the mountainside.
No details were provided on the circumstances of the discovery or the presence of survivors. The aircraft was carrying 22 people, including some foreign nationals from Germany and India.
The Tara Air plane, which was making a regular 20-minute flight to the mountain town of Jomsom on Sunday, took off from the seaside resort of Pokhara, 200 km west of Kathmandu.
The Twin Otter model turboprop aircraft lost contact with the airport tower shortly before landing in an area traversed by deep gorges and high peaks.
Bad weather conditions and darkness had prevented the search from continuing in the evening on Sunday, but a military helicopter and a private aircraft had resumed work on Monday.
Army troops and rescue teams were heading towards the possible crash site, which was believed to be near Lete, a village in Mustang district, said Narayan Silwal, the spokesman for the the army, on Twitter.
The flight route taken by the stranded plane is quite popular with foreign trekkers and Indian and Nepali pilgrims visiting Muktinath Temple.
In 2016, a Tara Air Twin Otter on the same route crashed after takeoff, killing all 23 people on board. 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 people on board.