SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, DEC 15 - An aircraft owned by Tara air has gone missing after it took off from Lamidanda airport in Khotang district on Wednesday.
The 9N-AFX Twin-Otter plane with 22 people onboard—three crew members, 19 passengers—left the airport for the Capital at 3.10 this afternoon, Khotang district DSP Tek Bahadur Tamang informed. One of the passengers is a foreigner.
Most of the passengers were returning from a pilgrimage to famous Hindu shrine of Halesimahadev—temple of lord shiva.
Captain AR Shakya, his assistant Satindra Shrestha, and airhostess AS Gurung, were among the crew members.
The missing passengers have been identified as Ji Sherpa, Ke Sherpa, S Tamang, A Tamang, RT Tamang, TG Lama, KW Lama, P Tamang, KN Lama, ZD Sherpa, LW Sherpa, SB Lama, T Sherpa, Miss TY Sherpa, PW Tamang, TB Tamang, TW Sherpa and a foreigner, whose nationality has not been ascertained yet.
The aircraft lost contact with the air traffic control tower, five minutes after the take-off. DSP Tamang said efforts are underway to locate the missing plane.
According to TIA officials, a flight from Lamidanda to Kathmandu takes around 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, Nepal Army (NA) spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri though a NA plane is ready to take off for the rescue, it has not left due to unfavourable weather.
“A night-vision aircraft is all ready but it has not taken off owing to low visibility,” said Chhetri.
Famous for its rugged and mountainous terrain, Nepal has dubious safety record when it comes to internal aviation.
Less than two months ago, a chopper bound for Mt. Amadablam crashed at the base camp of the mountain in Solukhumbu district. And five months ago, an Agni Air Dornier en route to the Everest region from the capital crashed in Makawanpur, killing everyone onboard.
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