Bad weather makes helicopter search difficult with extremely low visibility.
A small plane with 22 people on board flying for a popular tourist route went missing on Sunday in the mountains of Nepal.
The Tara Airlines plane, which was a 15-minute scheduled flight to the mountain town of Jomsom, took off from Pokhara, 200 km (124 miles) east of Kathmandu. He lost contact with the airport tower shortly after takeoff.
Police officer Ramesh Thapa said there was no information about the Twin Otter plane and that a search was being conducted.
“A domestic flight to Jomsom from Pokhara has lost contact,” Tara Air spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula told AFP news agency.
He said there were 19 passengers on board and three crew members.
Interior Ministry spokesman Phanindra Mani Pokharel said two helicopters had been deployed for a search operation, but added that visibility was low.
“Bad weather is likely to make the search difficult. Visibility is so poor that nothing can be seen,” Pokharel said.
Six foreigners, including four Indians and two Germans, were on board the plane, a police official, who was not authorized to speak to the media on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press.
“Once the weather improves”
Nepal State Television said villagers saw a plane set on fire at the source of the Lyanku Khola River, at the foot of the Himalayan mountain Manapathi, in a district bordering Tibet.
“A search helicopter returned to Jomsom due to bad weather without locating the plane,” the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.
“Helicopters are ready to take off from Kathmandu, Pokhara and Jomsom once the weather conditions improve. Army and police search teams have marched to the scene.”
It has been raining in the area for the last few days, but flights have been running normally. The planes on this route fly between mountains before landing in a valley.
It is a popular route among foreign hikers touring the mountain trails, and also among Indian and Nepalese pilgrims visiting the revered Muktinath temple.
Jomsom is a popular trekking destination in the Himalayas about 20 minutes by plane from Pokhara.
In 2016, a Tara Airlines Twin Otter flying the same route crashed after takeoff and killed all 23 people on board.
In 2012, an Agni Air plane that also flew from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed and killed 15 people. Six people survived.
In 2014, a Nepal Airlines plane flying from Pokhara to Jumla crashed and killed all 18 on board.