The missing passenger plane in Nepal has been found, according to the army. A search team located the plane wreckage and reinforcements are on the way, army spokesman Narayan Silwal said on Monday. No information was initially given about the fate of the 22 inmates, including two Germans.
Radio contact with the machine was lost on Sunday morning shortly after it took off from the western city of Pokhara. In addition to the three crew members, there were 19 passengers on board, including two Germans and four Indians.
The Tara Air plane was en route to Jomsom, a popular mountain trekking base in the Himalayas just 20 minutes from Nepal’s second largest city of Pokhara, when it lost contact. According to the flight controller, the machine was at the time over the village of Ghorepani, which is a good 2870 meters above sea level.
The German Foreign Office in Berlin said the German embassy in Kathmandu was “working hard to clarify the matter” and was in contact with the Nepalese authorities.
Aviation in Nepal has been booming for years and is being expanded for both tourists and freight transport. However, safety standards are low due to insufficient staff training and poor maintenance of the machines. The European Union has therefore banned all Nepalese airlines from its airspace.
In addition, the Himalayan state is home to some of the most remote and difficult airstrips. The weather in Nepal’s mountains can change quickly and create dangerous flying conditions.
