Missing Flight With 22 People On Board In Nepal

The search by two helicopters is being hampered by bad weather and extremely low visibility.

On Sunday, a small plane carrying 22 people went missing in Nepal's Himalayas while travelling on a famous tourist route.

The Tara Airlines plane took off from Pokhara, 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Kathmandu, on a 15-minute scheduled flight to the alpine town of Jomsom. Shortly after takeoff, it lost touch with the airport tower.

Ramesh Thapa, a police official, said there was no information about the Twin Otter plane and that a search was underway.

Sudarshan Bartaula, a spokesman for Tara Air, told the AFP news agency that a domestic flight destined for Jomsom from Pokhara had lost touch.

There were 19 passengers and three crew members on board, he said.

Two helicopters were deployed for a search operation, according to Phanindra Mani Pokharel, a spokesperson for the home affairs ministry, but visibility was poor.

"The search operation is expected to be hampered by the severe weather.”Nothing can be seen since the visibility is so terrible," Pokharel remarked.

Jomsom, in the Himalayas, is a famous trekking location about 20 minutes by plane from Pokhara.

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