A passenger plane carrying 22 people disappeared minutes after take-off, as the fate of those on board is unknown.
The Mirror reports that the small plane was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members were missing on Sunday morning while flying over a remote mountain range in Nepal.
Nepalese airline Tara Air said the 9N-AET DHC-6 Twin Otter lost contact at 9.55am.
A helicopter was sent to the area where the last contact was made, according to the local newspaper The Kathmandu Post.
The plane had 13 Nepalese, four Indians, two Germans and three crew on board. Seven of the passengers were women.
Flightradar data show that the plane lost contact 15 minutes after takeoff (Image: Flightradar24) Read more related articles Read more related articles
The Tara Air plane took off from the tourist city of Pokhara, about 125 km (80 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, in the direction of Jomsom, about 80 km northwest, the authorities.
The plane lost contact with the control tower five minutes before landing in Jomsom, a popular tourist and pilgrimage site, an airline official told Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity.
Tara Air primarily flies Canadian-built Twin Otter turboprop aircraft.
“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 improves.
“Army and police search teams have marched to the scene.”
A missing Tara Air DHC-6 Twin Otter archive image (Image: Madhu Thapa / Handout via REUTERS)
According to an air traffic controller at Jomsom Airport, there has been an unconfirmed report of loud noise in the Ghasa area of Jomsom.
There has been heavy rain in the area in recent days, but flights have been able to continue operating as usual.
The country’s meteorological office said there had been thick clouds in the Pokhara-Jomson area since morning.
Read more related articles Read more related articles
Police Officer Prem Kumar Dani said a rescue and ground search team had been sent to the area near Mount Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest peak in the world at 8,167 m (26,795 ft).
Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record number of air crashes.
Its weather can change suddenly and the runways are usually located in mountainous areas that are difficult to access.
In early 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines flight from Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed on the landing and caught fire, killing 51 of the 71 people on board.
In 1992, all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it crashed into a hill while trying to land in Kathmandu.
Don’t miss the latest news from Scotland and beyond: sign up for our daily newsletter here.