KATHMANDU, Nepal: Nepalese authorities have suspended a search for a passenger plane operated by privately owned Tara Air which went missing with 22 passengers, including three crew members, on May 29.
Officials said bad weather and mountainous terrain had hampered their efforts to locate the plane, a De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, which took off in the morning for a 20-minute flight, but lost contact with the control tower five minutes before it was due to land.
The plane departed from the tourist town of Pokhara west of the capital Kathmandu for Jomsom, a popular tourist and pilgrimage site.
Nepal Television reported that villagers reported a fire near the Lyanku Khola River at the foot of Manapathi, a Himalayan mountain in a district bordering Tibet.
Referring to the fire, Tara Air spokesperson Sudarshan Gartaula told Reuters, “Ground search teams are proceeding toward that direction. It could be a fire by villagers or by cowherds. It could be anything.”
The airline said the plane’s passengers included four Indians, two Germans and 16 Nepalis, including three crew members.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, a team was headed to that area.
The weather office said the Pokhara-Jomson area has recently seen thick cloud cover.
