KATHMANDU, May 30: There are no survivors in Sunday's plane crash in Nepal. All 22 on board, including four Indians, are feared dead. Fourteen bodies were
recovered till noon Monday. The search was resumed and the crash site accessed
in the morning after being suspended in the night because of bad weather. The
crash site in Mustang district in the north-west of Nepal is at an elevation
of 14,500 feet, the army spokesperson said.
“Some of the bodies of the passengers are beyond recognition," an official
said. The bodies have been scattered over a 100-metre radius from the crash
site at Sano Sware Bhir of Thasang in Mustang.
The four Indians on board were Ashok Kumar Tripathy, his ex-wife Vaibhavi
Bandekar (Tripathy) and their children Dhanush and Ritika. The Indian embassy
emergency helpline number is :+977-9851107021.
The Nepalese Tara airline, carrying 22 passengers and crew, including four
Indians, two Germans and a three-member Nepali crew, was flying from the tourist
town of Pokhara to Jomsom in mountainous north-western Mustang district on
Sunday morning. The crash site was located at Kowang village in Mastang by GPS
tracking of the pilot's mobile by the army's rescue team as well as the ELT
on Sunday evening but could not be reached. Villagers had first reported of
the sound of crash. Bad weather was hampering search operations which were called
off in the evening.
Two helicopters were deployed to look for the missing plane in Jomsom in mountainous
Mustang in the morning, but bad weather hampered the search operation. Army
teams were also despatched for search by air and ground. Visibility was very
poor. Hardly anything could be seen, it is learnt.
The Civil Aviation Authority said the crash site was located through the emergency
locator transmitter (ELT). The ELT is an emergency beacon used in aircraft to
indicate the location when in distress. The GPS traction of the pilot's mobile
also helped. Some villagers had earlier reported of a sound of crash.
The Canada-built Tara Air turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane lost contact while
flying from the tourist town of Pokhara, 200 km northwest of Capital Kathmandu,
to Jomsom in mountainous Mustang district, 80 km to the northwest, a 15-minute
flight. The plane took off at 9:55 am (local time).
Reports said the plane had reached Jomsom but was seen being diverted towards
Mt. Dhaulagiri, to the west, and was believed to have crashed in Lete in Mustang
as people were reported to have heard the crashing sound.
Tara Air claims to have the "widest domestic flights network" in Nepal. The
airline has seven STOL aircraft - five Twin Otter (DHC 6/300) and two Dornier
(DO 228) aircraft.
In 2016, a Twin Otter turboprop aircraft of Tara Air crashed in the western
district of Myagdi, killing 23 passengers. However, Nepal, situated in the Himalayas,
with its mountainous terrain, has had fewer air accidents.
Muktinath temple: In the valley of Mustang near Tibet border is situated
Muktinath temple, a Vishnu temple sacred to both the Hindus and the Buddhists.
It is called Hindus' 'mukti desam' or 'mukti kshetra' or 'place of salvation.'
The temple can be reached via Pokhara. By road, the distance from Kathmandu
to Pokhara is 200 km. From Pokhara it's 15 minutes by air to Jomsom (one of
the world's most extreme airports). From Jomsom it takes two hours by road to
reach Muktinath temple. At an altitude of 3,750 metres, the temple valley is
surrounded by snow- clad mountains.
Jomsom: Jomsom, also in Mustang district, is famous for trekking and
climbing.
Pokhara: A tourist destination. The Himalayan range and lakes can be
seen from Pokhara Valley. Pokhara, in central Nepal, is also famous for boating,
trekking, rafting, canoeing and bungee jumping. Annapurna can be seen on way
from here. Pokhara is in the Kaski district of Gandaki province in central Nepal.
