– I sadly receive the confirmation that everyone on board the Tara air plane is dead, said Naples’ Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on social media on Monday afternoon. He also sent his condolences to relatives, reports the Times of India.
The wreckage after the plane was found on Monday morning, and rescue workers then found several bodies. Of those on board, two came from Germany and 13 from Nepal, in addition to the crew, which consisted of three Nepalese.
The plane was to fly a regular tourist route when it disappeared shortly after taking off on Sunday morning. Bad weather and lack of visibility hampered the search, but on Monday morning local time, the military announced that wreckage from the crashed plane had been found along a mountainside.
The air traffic control tower lost contact with the plane shortly after takeoff from Pokhara, about 200 km west of the capital Kathmandu. It was then on the way to the mountain village of Jomsom, about a 20 minute flight away and a popular destination for hikers.
Nepal’s aviation tourism has expanded greatly in recent years and climbers and hikers fly to places that are difficult to reach on foot.