Kathmandu: All 18 people, including a foreigner and an infant, on board a small plane were feared killed on Sunday when it crashed in bad weather while on its way from a popular tourist resort to a town in western Nepal.
The 19-seater Twin Otter of Nepal Airlines took off from Pokhara airport at 12:40 pm and disappeared 15 minutes later.
"The aircraft with 15 passengers and three crew members, which flew from 12.40 pm from Pokhara airport lost contact with the airport tower minutes after take off," according to Nepal Airlines officials.
It later found crashed in a jungle at Khidim of Arghakhanchi district. Though, the condition of the passengers is not yet known, all 18 people on board, are feared dead, authorities said.
The aircraft was carrying 14 Nepalese passengers, including an infant and a Danish citizen. As per the preliminary reports bad weather was the cause behind the accident.
The accident site was spotted, where fire flames were seen and army and civilian helicopters have been mobilised to carry out rescue operations.
In December, the EU put all of Nepal's airlines on a blacklist, citing safety fears.
In September 2012, a plane operated by Nepal's Sita Air crashed near Kathmandu airport, killing 19 people. In May 2012, 15 people died when an Agni Air plane carrying Indian pilgrims to a Hindu religious site in northern Nepal crashed at a high-altitude airport.
