Nepal Plane Crash: 21 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of the 'Tara Air' plane that crashed in Nepal's mountainous Mustang district. Officials gave this information on Monday. Tara Air's 'Turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET' aircraft went missing in the mountainous region of Nepal shortly after taking off from Pokhara on Sunday morning. A total of 22 people, including 4 Indians, 2 Germans and 13 Nepalese nationals, were on board the Canadian-made aircraft. Three Nepalis from the crew were also on board.

This plane was going from Pokhara to the famous tourist town of Jamsam in central Nepal. According to the news of 'Kathmandu Post' newspaper, rescue workers have pulled out 20 bodies from the accident site, while news agency ANI quoted Nepal's aviation officials as saying that the bodies of 21 people have been removed. The newspaper quoted 'Tara Air' spokesperson Sudarshan Bartola as saying that search and rescue teams are scouting the area to find the rest of the body.

He said that out of the total recovered bodies, 10 have been brought to Cowang, from where the rescue operation is underway. "There are about 100 people at the crash site, including the Nepalese Army, Armed Police Forces, Nepal Police, mountaineering rescue officers and local people, who are searching for the rest of the body," Bertola said. Quoting officials, the newspaper said the body would be airlifted to Kathmandu by 5 pm on Monday.

President Vidya Devi Bhandari has condoled the death of the crew members and passengers in the plane crash. Earlier in the afternoon, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said in a statement that 16 bodies were recovered from the wreckage of the crashed plane in Mustang district. CAAN reported that the plane crashed at an altitude of 14,500 feet at Thasang-2 in Mustang district.

Inda Singh, who arrived in the area to clear the blocked road, found that the plane had crashed, 'MyRepublica' newspaper reported. He said the plane was completely damaged. The newspaper quoted Singh as saying, 'All the people on board have been found dead. The bodies are in a position to be identified. Singh said that there was no fire in the plane. The plane probably crashed after hitting a rock.

According to CAAN, search and rescue teams of Nepal Army, Air Dynasty, Kailash Helicopter, Fishtail Air Helicopter and other rescue personnel have been deployed at the accident site. Fishtel Air's 9N-AJR helicopter was the first to reach the crash site and confirmed the crash at 8:10 am on Monday.

According to the list of passengers released by the airline, the Indians present in the aircraft have been identified as Ashok Kumar Tripathi, his wife Vaibhavi Bandekar Tripathi and children – Dhanush Tripathi and Ritika Tripathi. This family hails from Thane district of Maharashtra.

Nepal's military said on Monday that the wreckage of the plane was found about 20 hours after it went missing. Earlier, Army spokesperson Brigadier Narayan Silwal tweeted, "Soldiers and rescue workers have located the crash site. Detailed information related to this will be shared soon. Sharing a picture, he wrote, 'The accident site is in Sanosware, Thasang-2 of Mustang district.' Silwal told that police inspector Lt Mangal Shrestha and a guide have reached the accident spot.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, 'Tara Air' aircraft took off from Pokhara at 9:55 am on Sunday, but lost contact with the control tower about 12 minutes later at 10:7 am. Tara Air spokesperson Bertola said, "The bodies were scattered within a radius of 100 meters from the main crash site." Bertola told that the plane was shattered due to hitting the mountain. "The collision was so severe that the bodies were scattered here and there," he said. In the viral picture on social media, only the rear part of the aircraft and a 'wing' (Dana) are visible.

In the year 2016, another aircraft of 'Tara Air' had crashed on the same route after taking off. All 23 people on board the plane were killed in the accident.

In March 2018, a US-Bangla Air plane crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport, killing 51 people on board.