Nepal plane with 22 on board crashes near river

A small passenger plane operated by a private airline in Nepal crashed on Sunday with 22 people on board, including four Indians, officials said.

The Tara Air aircraft took off at 9.55am from Pokhara, and lost contact with the control tower 15 minutes later, according to an airline spokesperson. The crashed plane was later found at Kowang village.

“According to the information given by the locals, the Tara Air plane crashed at the mouth of the Lamche river under the landslide of Manapathi Himal. Nepal Army is moving towards the site from the ground and air route,” Army spokesperson Narayan Silwal was quoted as saying by ANI.

Apart from the four Indian nationals (who are from Mumbai), two Germans and 13 Nepali passengers were on board the Twin Otter 9N-AET plane, a spokesperson at the airlines said.

The aircraft was scheduled to land at Jomsom Airport in the Western mountainous region at 10:15 am.