Tara Air plane, carrying 22 passengers, including 4 Indians and 3 Japanese nationals, flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed at the mouth of the Lamche river under the landslide of Manapathi Himal
Tara Air’s 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft, which went missing in the mountainous district of Mustang last Sunday morning, was found at Kowang village of the district, according to a Nepal Airport official.
According to the information given by the locals to the Nepal Army, the Tara Air plane, carrying 22 passengers, including 4 Indians and 3 Japanese nationals, flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed at the mouth of the Lamche river under the landslide of Manapathi Himal. Army spokesperson Narayan Silwal said that the Nepal Army was moving towards the site from the ground and air route.
Tara Air’s 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft had lost contact, after reaching the Lete area of
Mustang, the Airport authorities said. As per officials, among those on board were Ashok Kumar Tripathi, his wife Vaibhavi Bandekar (Tripathi) and children Dhanush and Ritika, residents of Kapurbawadi, in Thane.
“The aircraft was seen over the sky of Jomsom in Mustang and then had diverted to Mt. Dhaulagiri after which it hadn’t come into contact,” Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma confirmed over the phone.
It has been raining in the area for the past few days but flights had been operating normally. Planes on that route fly between mountains before landing in a valley
As per the police officials, the aircraft has been suspected to have crashed in the “Titi” area of Lete in Mustang District. “Locals from Titi have called and informed us that they have heard an unusual sound as if there was some bang. We are deploying a helicopter to the area for the search operation,” said Ram Kumar Dani, DSP of District Police Office, Mustang. The Home Ministry deployed two private helicopters from Mustang and Pokhara for the search for missing aircraft.
Sources have stated that it has been raining in the area for the past few days but flights had been operating normally. Planes on that route fly between mountains before landing in a valley. It is a popular route with foreign hikers who trek on the mountain trails and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple.
In 2016, a Tara Air Twin Otter flying the same route crashed after takeoff, killing all 23 people aboard. In 2012, an Agni Air plane also flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed, killing 15 people. Six people survived. In 2014, a Nepal Airlines plane flying from Pokhara to Jumla crashed, killing all 18 on board. In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people aboard.
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