Nepali rescuers recovered the bodies of 20 people, including an Indian family of four, on Monday morning after the Nepali Army discovered the crash site of a Tara Air plane that went missing with 22 onboard on Sunday morning. Authorities confirmed that no one survived the crash.

The wreckage of the plane was found at 14,500ft in Sano Sware Bhir of Thasang in the northwestern district of Mustang, the Nepali Army said. 

Two bodies are yet to be recovered.

The twin-engine small passenger plane went missing in cloudy weather on Sunday, prompting authorities to launch a search operation. Rescuers struggled all day yesterday amid bad weather and harsh and difficult mountainous terrain.

The search operation was suspended in the night and resumed earlier today.

“The search and rescue teams are scouring the area for the remaining two bodies,” Sudarshan Bartula, spokesperson of Tara Air, was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

“There are around 100 people at the crash site including officials of the Nepali Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, mountaineering rescue officials, and locals searching for the remaining bodies,” he added.

Among the dead were an Indian couple from Thane, Maharashtra and their two children.

On Sunday, the plane lost contact with the ATC almost 20 mins after it took off from Pokhara, a tourist town 125 km west of the capital Kathmandu, for Jomsom, another popular tourist and pilgrimage site, 80 km northwest of Pokhara.

(SAM)