A 20-min journey ends in tragedy

At least 22 people were feared death as a small passenger plane went missing in mountainous Nepal on Sunday during cloudy weather. A look at what appears to have transpired

What happened?

A small passenger plane run by private airline Tara Air went missing deep in the Himalayas with 22 people on board during cloudy weather. Officials said search teams had been sent to the site of a fire spotted by local residents.

The turboprop aircraft lost contact with the airport tower close to landing in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops.

The journey

The plane was on a 20-minute scheduled flight the morning from the resort town of Pokhara, 200km east of Kathmandu, to the mountain town of Jomsom.

State-owned Nepal Television said villagers had seen an aircraft on fire at the source of the Lyanku Khola River at the foot of the Manapathi mountain, in a district bordering Tibet.

The plane A 19-seater, the DE HAVILLAND CANADA DHC-6-300 TWIN OTTER

is a Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was produced from 1965 to 1988 The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL capabilities, twin turboprop engines and high rate of climb have made it a successful commuter passenger and cargo aircraft, and is popular with skydiving enthusiasts Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said the missing aircraft, with registration number 9N-AET, made its first flight in April 1979

Difficulties in locating the plane

Rescuers zeroed in on a possible location of the plane, but it was proving difficult due to the weather and terrain. Due to bad weather the search had to be suspended until Monday "The location of the aircraft remains unknown so far because of bad weather and complex terrain... The ground and air search for the aircraft will be intensified and the rescue coordination centre will remain open for 24 hours."

— Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal