Nepal plane crash: Rescuers recover 21 bodies from site

New Delhi, May 30: Rescuers have pulled out 21 bodies from the wreckage of the crashed Nepalese plane which was crashed in Mustang district on Sunday, news agency PTI reported.

The Canadian-built plane had crashed at Thasang-2 in Mustang district at a height of 14,500 feet, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said.

Ashok Kumar Tripathy, his wife Vaibhavi Bandekar (Tripathy) and their children Dhanush and Ritika are the four Indians identified by the passengers' list by the airline. The family was based in Thane city near Mumbai. Their family members from India are waiting in Kathmandu for the identification of their bodies.

The Tara Air plane carrying 22 took off at 9:55 am from Pokhara and lost contact with air control about 12 minutes later at 10:07 am, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

Pieces of the wreckage of the aircraft were found after nearly 20 hours since the plane went missing, the Nepal Army said on Monday.

Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents. In 2016, all 23 people aboard were killed when a plane of the same airline flying the same route crashed after takeoff, PTI reports.

A plane flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed near Jomsom airport on May 14, 2012, killing 15 people. Tara Air is the newest and biggest airline service provider in the Nepalese mountains, according to the airline website. It started its business in 2009 with the mission of helping develop rural Nepal. PTI