KATHMANDU, NEPAL (AP) – Rescuers inspecting a hillside in Nepal on Monday found 17 of the 22 bodies aboard the plane that crashed the previous day, officials said.
Airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula said the search for the remaining people would continue.
Bartaula said rescuers suggested that some of the bodies were trapped under the wreckage of the plane. He said the barefoot rescuers were unable to move the metal debris.
The Tara Air Twin Otter turboprop lost contact with the airport tower on Sunday when it scheduled a 20-minute flight over deep river valleys and mountain peaks.
There were four Indians and two Germans on board, Tara Air said. The three crew and the other passengers are citizens of Nepal.
The devastation was found by villagers looking for Yarsagumba mushrooms in this region, commonly referred to as Himalayan Viagra, according to local news.
The new Setopati website cited a villager, Bishal Magar, who said he had heard about the plane going missing on Sunday, but only arrived on Monday morning after smelling the fuel.
Cool said it looks like the plane could have crashed into a smaller peak and then crashed into a larger mountain.
According to local news, the passengers included two Nepalese families, one with four members and seven others.
Aerial photos of the crash site showed parts of the plane scattered in rocks and moss on the edge of a mountain valley.
The military said the plane crashed in Sanosver, Mustang district, near the mountain town of Jomsom, where it was heading after flying from Pokhara resort town, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Kathmandu.
According to tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43-year-old plane flew from Pokhara at 9:55 a.m. and delivered its final signal at 10:07 a.m. at an altitude of 12,825 feet (3,900 meters) .
The plane destination is popular with foreign hikers walking in its mountains and Indian and Nepalese pilgrims visiting the revered Muktinati temple.
The Twin Otter, a crude aircraft originally made by Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland, has been operating in Nepal for approximately 50 years, during which time it has been involved in approximately 21 accidents. , aviationnepal.com reports.
The aircraft, with wings mounted above and fixed landing gear, is valued for durability and ability to take off and land on short runways.
Aircraft production was first completed in the 1980s. Another Canadian company, Viking Air, brought the model into production in 2010.
Source: Huffpost
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