Rescuers find plane wreckage in Nepal
No word yet about the 18 people aboard the Nepal Airlines plane that missing in the western Himalayas on Sunday.
Rescuers in Nepal have found the wreckage of a passenger plane that went missing in the western mountains. There is no word yet about the 18 people aboard.
Nepal Airlines official Ram Hari Sharma told the Associated Press that a rescue helicopter was able to spot the wreckage on Monday on the side of a mountain near Machinelek and rescuers on foot are now trying to reach the area.
The plane operated by the state-run airline lost contact with the ground control on Sunday while flying in rain and fog.
There were 15 passengers and three crew members on board the plane.
One of the passengers is believed to be a Danish national, while the rest on board, including a child, are Nepalese nationals.
Heavy rain hampered earlier rescue efforts with two helicopters forced to turn back because of bad weather, said Bimlesh Lal Karna on Sunday, the chief air traffic controller at the country’s largest airport in Kathmandu.
The incident again raises concerns about the nation’s aviation sector, which has suffered a series of fatal accidents.
The EU in December banned all the country’s airlines from flying to the EU.