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Missing Nepal plane: Wreckage found Missing Nepal plane: Wreckage found
(35 minutes later)
Officials in Nepal say the wreckage of a missing passenger plane with 18 people on board has been located in the western district of Arghakhanchi.Officials in Nepal say the wreckage of a missing passenger plane with 18 people on board has been located in the western district of Arghakhanchi.
There were no survivors and the bodies have been taken to the capital, Kathmandu, officials say.
The Nepal Airlines plane was flying from the resort city of Pokhara to Jumla when contact was lost shortly after take-off on Sunday.The Nepal Airlines plane was flying from the resort city of Pokhara to Jumla when contact was lost shortly after take-off on Sunday.
An aviation official said the plane appeared to have crashed into a hill. An aviation official said the aircraft crashed into a hill.
A helicopter had identified burning wreckage and search officials believed there were no survivors, he said. Bimlesh Lal Karna, from Nepal's civil aviation authority, said, "It was very difficult for the rescue helicopters to land there. But they finally did.
"The search helicopter has reported that it has found the wreckage and has seen the tail portion of the plane burning," said Bimlesh Lal Karna, a rescue coordinator with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). "All the 18 bodies have been brought to Kathmandu; they will be handed over to the family members after the post-mortem."
"It has reported that there is no possibility of survivors." He said the crash site was on a hill called Masinelek in Arghakhanchi.
Recovery teams would make their way to the site over land, because the helicopter could not touch down in the terrain, he said.
BlacklistBlacklist
Contact with the Canadian-made Twin Otter plane was lost a few minutes after it took off at 12:40 local time (06:55 GMT) from the resort town of Pokhara, bound for Jumla, around 360km (220 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, officials said. Contact with the Canadian-made Twin Otter plane was lost a few minutes after it took off at 12:40 local time (06:55 GMT) from the resort town of Pokhara, bound for Jumla, around 360km (220 miles) west of Kathmandu.
Fifteen passengers - reportedly including a child - and three crew members were on board the aircraft, which had started its journey in Kathmandu and stopped in Pokhara to refuel.Fifteen passengers - reportedly including a child - and three crew members were on board the aircraft, which had started its journey in Kathmandu and stopped in Pokhara to refuel.
The passenger manifest states that one of the passengers was Danish. While one passenger was a Danish citizen, all the others on board the plane, including the crew, were Nepali nationals, says the BBC's Surendra Phuyal.
Critics say many passenger aircraft in Nepal are poorly maintained.Critics say many passenger aircraft in Nepal are poorly maintained.
In December, the EU put all of Nepal's airlines on a blacklist and banned them from flying to the EU on safety grounds.In December, the EU put all of Nepal's airlines on a blacklist and banned them from flying to the EU on safety grounds.
In Nepal, 13 private airlines fly to nearly 50 airports, many of them in difficult locations, surrounded by mountains, cloudy weather and with no road access.In Nepal, 13 private airlines fly to nearly 50 airports, many of them in difficult locations, surrounded by mountains, cloudy weather and with no road access.
In September 2012, a plane operated by Nepal's Sita Air crashed near Kathmandu airport, killing 19 people.In September 2012, a plane operated by Nepal's Sita Air crashed near Kathmandu airport, killing 19 people.
In May of that year, 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.In May of that year, 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.
Since 1949 - the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal - there have been more than 70 different crashes involving planes and helicopters, in which more than 700 people have been killed.Since 1949 - the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal - there have been more than 70 different crashes involving planes and helicopters, in which more than 700 people have been killed.