Fourteen bodies have been recovered from the crash site of a plane that crashed in a remote region of Nepal.
The wreckage of the plane carrying 22 people was found scattered on a mountain slope on Monday after disappearing during a short flight.
“The search for other people continues,” said Tek Raj Sitaula, a spokesman for Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.
The Tara Air Twin Otter turboprop was on a 20-minute flight when it lost contact with the airport tower while flying in an area of deep river gorges and mountain tops just before its scheduled landing.
Image: The search for the plane had been suspended due to bad weather and the darkness of Sunday night. Image: AP
The army said the plane crashed in Sanosware, Mustang District, near the mountain town of Jomsom, where it was heading after taking off from the resort town of Pokhara, 125 miles west of Kathmandu.
An aerial photo of the crash site posted on Twitter by an army spokesman showed parts of the plane scattered along the mountainside.
The search for the plane had been suspended due to bad weather and dark on Sunday night, but resumed on Monday.
According to tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43-year-old plane took off from Pokhara at 9.55 local time and transmitted its last signal at 10.07 at an altitude of 12,825 feet (3,900 meters).
The plane was carrying four Indians and two Germans, while the three crew and other passengers were of Nepalese nationality.
The destination of the plane is popular with foreign hikers touring the mountain trails, and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims visiting the revered Muktinath temple.
The Twin Otter, a rugged aircraft originally built by Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland, has been in service in Nepal for about 50 years.
During that time, he has been involved in about 21 accidents, according to aviationnepal.com.
The aircraft, with the wing mounted at the top and the fixed landing gear, is appreciated for its durability and its ability to take off and land on short runways.
Production of the aircraft originally ended in the 1980s, but another Canadian company, Viking Air, re-produced the model in 2010.