Missing plane found crashed in Nepal, all 22 on board killed

A passenger plane that went missing in Nepal was on Thursday found crashed in a mountainous area near the capital killing all 22 people on board, including foreigners.

Rescuers found the wreckage of the Canadian-built Twin Otter aircraft belonging to Tara Airlines, a private company this morning, a day after the plane lost contact with the control tower of the airport at Lamidanda in Khotang district of eastern Nepal minutes after it took off from there.

A police spokesman said rescuers have recovered 20 bodies and are searching for the other two. He said the aircraft has broken up completely and is scattered over 200 metres of dense forest near Kathmandu.

The plane, which was flying to Kathmandu from Lamidanda, was carrying 19 passengers, including an American and three crew members. It went missing yesterday at 3.40 pm local time, officials said. Two search helicopters were sent to locate the missing aircraft, according to airport officials here.

Last month a helicopter crashed near Mount Everest during a mission to rescue two stranded climbers, killing the pilot and an engineer. Tara Airlines runs services to many far-flung destinations across Nepal.