This handout photograph released by Fishtail Air, shows the wreckage of a plane in a gorge in Sanosware in Mustang district close to the mountain town of Jomsom, west of Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, May 30, 2022. (Fishtail Air via AP)
OAN NEWSROOM
UPDATED 3:29 PM PT – Monday, May 30, 2022
Authorities continue their recovery operation after finding the wreckage of a plane in Nepal.
On Monday, rescue crews searched a mountainside. They recovered the bodies of 21 of the 22 people who were onboard a plane that crashed Sunday. One body has yet to be discovered. Kathmandu Airport spokesman Tek Nath Sitaula said the search for the remaining person will continue.
“There is very little chance to find survivors,” said Deo Chandra Lal Karna, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
Nepal Plane Crash: Nepal Army has reached the crash site at Sanosware, Thasang-2, Mustang. First picture released by Army. Along with 15 Nepali, 4 Indians, & 2 Germans wr on board. pic.twitter.com/KHabnNP7uE
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) May 30, 2022
The plane took off for a short flight, but air traffic control lost contact 15 minutes into the 20 minute flight. According to tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43 year old aircraft took off from Pokhara at 9:55 a.m. and transmitted its last signal at 10:07 a.m., at an altitude of 12,825 feet.
Air accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest. Nepali terrain and weather patterns make flying particularly difficult. Cloud cover hindered rescue efforts when the plane first disappeared.
“There is very thick cloud in the area,” voiced Senior Bureaucrat Netra Prasad Sharma.
The cause of the crash is unknown.