Nepal aircraft carrying 22 passengers including 4 indians goes missing

 

A small passenger plane operated by a private airline in Nepal with 22 people including 4 Indians on board went missing today. Airline officials said, the Tara Air 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft lost contact while flying from the tourist town of Pokhara to Jomsom. The aircraft, which was on a 15-minute scheduled flight, lost contact shortly after take-off at 9:55 am local time. The aircraft was hosting 4 Indian and 3 Japanese nationals. The remaining were Nepali citizens and the aircraft had 22 passengers including the crew, according to the State Television. As per the police officials, the aircraft has been suspected to have crashed in the "Titi" area of Lete in the mountainous Mustang district, which is the fifth-largest district of the Himalayan nation and hosts the pilgrimage of Muktinath Temple. The Nepal government has deployed two private helicopters from Mustang and Pokhara for the search for missing aircraft. Shortly after a plane went missing in Nepal today, the Embassy of India in Kathmandu  said the search and rescue operations were on. The embassy is in touch with the family of the missing Indians. It has issued an emergency hotline number in connection with the Nepali aircraft that went missing today. The hotline number is 977-9851107021.