Kathmandu, May 30 (UNI): The Nepal government on Monday said that rescuers have recovered 16 bodies from the site where a Twin Otter aircraft of Tara Air went missing on Sunday with 22 people on board including four Indians.
The Civil Aviation Authority, however, tweeted that the bodies were yet to be identified.
The Nepal Army said pieces of wreckage of the plane were found nearly 20 hours after the aircraft went missing. The debris were found at 14,500 feet in Sano Sware Bhir of Thasang in Mustang district in the country’s northwestern part, The Kathmandu Post reported.
Earlier on Monday, Army spokesperson Narayan Silwal tweeted: “Search and rescue troops have physically located the plane crash site.”
The bodies were scattered over a 100 meter radius from the main impact point, according to Nepal’s media.
Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson for Tara Air, told The Kathmandu Post that the plane had crashed into the mountain, breaking into pieces. “The impact has blown the bodies all over the hill.”
The Chief District Officer of Mustang, Netra Prasad Sharma, said the crash site was located with the help of the information given by locals who had reached the area to collect Yarshagumba (caterpillar fungus).
The search and rescue team were not able to reach the crash site on Sunday due to adverse weather conditions.
On Sunday evening, the Army had said all efforts of search and rescue were halted due to darkness and adverse weather. The search was resumed early morning on Monday both from air and ground.
The Tara Air aircraft left Pokhara on Sunday morning carrying 19 passengers and three crew members.
According to the airlines, the passengers included 13 Nepali, four Indians and two German nationals.
