21 bodies recovered from plane wreckage in Nepal
Rescuers searching a mountainside in Nepal on Monday recovered the bodies of 21 of the 22 people who were on board a plane that crashed a day earlier, officials said.
The search is continuing for the remaining person, Kathmandu airport spokesman Tek Nath Sitaula said.
Recovery efforts were delayed because some bodies were pinned under the plane’s wreckage. Rescuers working with their bare hands had difficulty moving the metal debris.
Aerial photos of the crash site showed aircraft parts scattered on rocks and moss on the side of a mountain gorge.
The Tara Air turboprop Twin Otter lost contact with the airport tower on Sunday while flying on a scheduled 20-minute flight in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops.
Relatives waited most of the day at the airport for news of their loved ones.
Four Indians and two Germans were on the plane, Tara Air said. The three crew members and other passengers were Nepali nationals, it said.
The army said the plane crashed in Sanosware in Mustang district close to the mountain town of Jomsom, where it was heading after taking off from the resort town of Pokhara, 125 miles west of Kathmandu.
According to tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43-year-old aircraft took off from Pokhara at 9:55 a.m. and transmitted its last signal at 10:07 a.m. at an altitude of 12,825 feet.
The plane’s destination is popular with foreign hikers who trek on its mountain trails, and with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple.
The Twin Otter, a rugged plane originally built by Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland, has been in service in Nepal for about 50 years. The plane, with its top-mounted wing and fixed landing gear, is prized for its durability and its ability to take off and land on short runways.