(Photo source: Nepal Army)
Rescuers have pulled out 14 bodies from the wreckage of the Tara Airlines plane that crashed in Nepal’s mountainous Mustang district on Sunday with 22 people on board, including four Indians, and there were slim chances of finding any survivors, according to media reports.
We suspected all the passengers on board the aircraft have lost their lives. Our preliminary assessment shows that no one could have survived the plane crash, but official statement is due: Phadindra Mani Pokhrel, Spokesperson, Home Ministry to ANI
The turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane had four Indian nationals, two Germans and 13 Nepali passengers besides a three-member Nepali crew.
Pieces of the wreckage of the passenger plane that crashed on Sunday morning were found at 14,500ft in Sano Sware Bhir of Thasang in Mustang district in northwestern Nepal, after nearly 20 hours since the plane went missing, the Nepal Army said on Monday.
A team of 15 Nepali Army soldiers has been dropped near the crash site to retrieve the bodies. The crash site lies at an elevation of about 14,500 feet while the team has been dropped at 11,000 meters height, Nepal Army spokesperson told ANI
“The search and rescue troops have physically located the plane crash site. Details will be followed,” Nepal Army Spokesperson Brigadier General Narayan Silwal said on Twitter.
“Crash site: Sanosware, Thasang-2, Mustang,” he tweeted along with a picture of what appears to be the wreckage of the aircraft.
The airline issued the list of passengers which identified four Indians as Ashok Kumar Tripathy, his wife Vaibhavi Bandekar (Tripathy) and their children Dhanush and Ritika. The family was based in Thane city near Mumbai.
The plane took off at 9:55 am from Pokhara and lost contact with air control about 12 minutes later at 10:07am, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.
The search and rescue team reached the crash site on Monday morning.
Sudarshan Bartaula, a spokesperson of Tara Air, said that the bodies of 14 people have been found.
“As the bodies have been scattered over a 100-metre radius from the main impact point, the search and rescue team is collecting them,” he told the newspaper.
The plane slammed into the mountain breaking into pieces, said Bartaula. “The impact has blown the bodies all over the hill,” he said.
