All 23 on board small aircraft believed dead after it crashes into mountain

A plane has crashed in a mountainous area of Nepal, killing all 23 people on board. Rescuers launched a search for the jet after it went missing in bad weather, minutes after taking off. Nepal’s interior minister Aananda Prasad Pokharel said the burnt wreckage was found several hours later in the remote Myagdi district. He said bodies could be seen scattered amongst the wreckage. Initial investigations suggest the plane flew directly into a mountain, police official Harihari Yogi said.

The plane was on fire and it is still burning.

Police constable Phool Kumar Thapa Magar, tells the Kathmandu Post

The Twin Otter aircraft, operated by domestic airline Tara Air, lost contact after taking off from Pokhara - a resort town west of Kathmandu. Officials said it was heading north on a short 20-minute flight to Jomsom, the starting point for trekkers going into the mountains. The flight, only possible for small aircraft, takes passengers directly between mountains. Among those on board were two foreign citizens - one from China and one from Kuwait. The remaining passengers were Nepalese, two of them children.

Nepal plane