Team News Riveting
Kathmandu, May 29
A Tara Air plane flying from Pokhara to Jomsom with 22 people on board has reportedly crashed in the hilly terrains of Mustang district today morning.
The twin otter with the call sign 9N AET took off from Pokhara Airport at 9.55 am carrying 19 passengers and three crew members. It was scheduled to land at Jomsom by 10:13 am.
The Pokhara Airport had been in contact with the plane till Ghorepani before it handed over the contact to the Jomsom Airport. The passengers include 13 Nepali, four Indian and two German
The Rising Nepal newspaper quoting Nepali Army Major General Baburam Shrestha said that the plane was spotted in a state of burning at Laningchgola, an upper area of Larikota in Thasang Rural Municipality-2 in Mustang district. It was piloted by Captain Prabhakar Ghimire.
Bad weather and blankets of clouds have made rescue and search efforts difficult. Based on an emergency locator transmitter (ELT), the authorities have traced the potential area in Khaibang. The ELT is an emergency beacon used in aircraft to alert rescue authorities and to indicate the location and the identity of an aircraft in distress.
“We have received a note from Bangalore, India, which tracks the ELT,” a senior official of Nepal Aviation department said.
The mobile phone of the captain is also ringing and the Telecom officials are helping the rescue team to get the exact location.
Here is the list of passengers and crew members on board:
Passengers: Indra Bahadur Gole, Purushottam Gole, Rajan Kumar Gole, Mick Grat, Basant Lama, Ganesh Narayan Shrestha, Raveena Shrestha, Rasmi Shrestha, Rozina Shrestha, Prakash Sunuwar, Makar Bahadur Tamang, Rammaya Tamang, Sukumaya Tamang, Tulsadevi Tamang, Yuvi Wilner and Ashok Kumar Tripathi, Dhanush Tripathi, Ritika Tripathi, Vaibhawi Bandekar (all four Indian) were on board.
Crew members: Capt. Prabhakar Ghimire, co-pilot Utsav Pokharel and Air Hostess Kismi Thapa.
