The Nepal Army has on May 30 located the site where the Tara Air plane crashed on May 29. Netra Prasad Sharma, the Chief District Officer of Mustang told ANI that search and rescue teams are on their way to the site by air and land.
The Nepal Army spokesperson also confirmed the rescue operations in a separate tweet. Posting: "Search and rescue troops have physically located the plane crash site. Details will be followed."
Wreckage of the Tara Air 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft was found in Kowang village of Mustang district in Nepal, hours after it went missing in the mountainous district in the morning on May 29. The plane crashed with 22 people on board, including four Indians.
Helicopters deployed to locate the crashed aircraft had to be recalled on May 29 due to heavy snowfall in Mustang district. But earlier today, the Nepal Army said that it had resumed rescue efforts.
"Due to the snowfall at the possible air crash site, the search and rescue operation has been called off for today. All helicopters deployed for search and rescue operations have been called back to bases," Premnath Thakur, General Manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, said as per ANI.
According to information shared with the Nepal Army by locals, the Tara Airplane hit the landslide of Manapathi Himal under the mouth of the Lamche River. Narayan Silwal, an Army spokesperson, said the Nepal Army was moving towards the site from the ground and by air.
After reaching the Lete area of Mustang in the morning on May 29, the twin-engine aircraft, flying from Pokhara to Jomsom at 9:55 am, lost contact with the ground. According to police officials, the aircraft is believed to have crashed in the "Titi" area of Lete in Mustang District.
"The aircraft was last seen over the sky of Jomsom in Mustang and then had diverted to Mt Dhaulagiri, after which it hadn't come into contact," Sharma told ANI.
"Locals from Titi have called and informed us that they have heard an unusual sound as if there was some bang. We are deploying a helicopter to the area for the search operation," Ram Kumar Dani, DSP of District Police Office, according to a report, Mustang told ANI.
Two private helicopters have also deployed from Mustang and Pokhara by the Nepal Home Ministry to search for the missing aircraft. Phadindra Mani Pokharel, the spokesperson at the Home Ministry, told ANI that a Nepal Army helicopter was being prepared for deployment.
The region of Mustang (name derived from the Tibetan 'Muntan' which means 'fertile plain'), is largely arid and dry. The world's deepest gorge, that drops down three miles vertically between the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountains, runs through this district.
(With inputs from ANI)
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