Nepal Army Finds Wreckage Of Plane In Mountains With Passengers Still Unlocated
On Sunday (29 May), a Tara Air plane went missing during a 15-minute flight from Pokhara to Jomsom in Nepal.
Nepal Plane Goes Missing With 22 On Board, Helicopters Deployed For Search & Rescue
Authorities immediately dispatched helicopters to look for the missing craft.
A day later, on Monday (30 May), wreckage from the plane was reportedly discovered by the Nepalese army in the mountains within the region.
The whereabouts of the passengers are still unknown as of now. A search-and-rescue effort is currently ongoing.
Wreckage of Nepal plane found in mountains
A spokesperson for the Nepalese army, identified as Brigadier General Narayan Silwal, posted an update on the search and rescue effort via Twitter on 30 May at 9.25am.
According to Reuters, the army had previously stopped rescue efforts on 29 May evening due to bad weather.
However, they resumed the operation this morning and managed to locate the wreckage in Sanosware, Thasang-2, Mustang — a mountainous region in Nepal.
Mr Narayan posted a picture of the crash site in the update.
The plane’s tail number is visible, identifying it as the aircraft that had gone missing the day before.
Other teams are currently en route to the site to assist with the rescue operation. Mr Narayan added that more details will arrive as the rescue operation develops.
Fate of passengers still unclear
Authorities conducting the search-and-rescue effort have not located the missing passengers as of yet.
According to an update by the Times of India, a team led by Nepal Police Inspector Raj Kumar Tamang found the remains of some of the passengers’ bodies, some of which were “beyond recognition”. The update also said the police are gathering the remains.
However, they have not yet confirmed the official location of the passengers who were on the flight.
The Tara Air plane was carrying a total of 22 individuals on board, with four Indians, two Germans and 16 Nepalis. It lost contact with air towers in Nepal after its takeoff at 9.55am.
A search-and-rescue effort was launched shortly after. According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said five helicopters were ready to assist with rescue operations.
This is a developing story—more updates to come.
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Featured images adapted from Narayan Silwal on Twitter.