KATHMANDU – Search has been intensified for a Tara Air’s Twin Otter plane with call sign ‘9 NAET’ that lost contact while en route to Jomsom of Mustang from Pokhara, Kaski late this morning.
According to the Search and Rescue Coordination Center, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the plane that had left Pokhara for Jomsom at 9:55 am had lost its contact with the Jomsom Tower at 10:07 am from Ghodepani.
As the Center said, a helicopter of Fishtail Air was send to the site for the search operation, the adverse weather aborted the efforts, forcing the chopper to fly back to Jomsom. It said, helicopters are on standby in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Jomsom airports for the search efforts and the aerial search for the plane will be resumed once the weather permits.
The Nepali Army and the Nepal Police squads have already left for the site to undertake the search efforts. A total of 22 people: 13 Nepali, four Indian and two Germans and three crew members are onboard the plane.
