Plane carrying 18 people missing in Nepal
By Sabuj Mia, London
in the country's mountainous west, officials said.The plane with 15 passengers and three crew on board lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly after taking off from the popular tourist town of Pokhara, airline officials and police said.
Rescuers in Nepal yesterday scrambled to find a Nepal Airlines plane carrying 18 people that went missing
"The Nepal Airlines plane with 14 (adult) passengers took off from Pokhara airport at 1.30 pm and disappeared 15 minutes later," Nepal police spokesman Ganesh KC told AFP.
A total of 18 people were on board, the 14 adult passengers, plus one infant and three crew, an airline spokesman said.
"One of the passengers is from Denmark," spokesman Ram Hari Sharma told AFP. The rest of those on board are from Nepal.
Heavy rain was hampering efforts to search for the plane, with two helicopters forced to turn back because of bad weather, Bimlesh Lal Karna, chief air traffic controller at the country's largest airport in Kathmandu, said.
"The weather was not bad at the time the plane went missing... It worsened later on," Karna told AFP.
The incident again raises concerns about the Himalayan nation's aviation sector, which has come under fire from international authorities after a series of fatal accidents.
The European Union in December blacklisted all the country's airlines and banned them from flying to the EU.
Nepal, which counts tourism as a major contributor to its economy, has suffered a number of air crashes in recent years, which have usually been attributed to inexperienced pilots, poor management and maintenance.
"The Nepal Airlines plane with 14 (adult) passengers took off from Pokhara airport at 1.30 pm and disappeared 15 minutes later," Nepal police spokesman Ganesh KC told AFP.
A total of 18 people were on board, the 14 adult passengers, plus one infant and three crew, an airline spokesman said.
"One of the passengers is from Denmark," spokesman Ram Hari Sharma told AFP. The rest of those on board are from Nepal.
Heavy rain was hampering efforts to search for the plane, with two helicopters forced to turn back because of bad weather, Bimlesh Lal Karna, chief air traffic controller at the country's largest airport in Kathmandu, said.
"The weather was not bad at the time the plane went missing... It worsened later on," Karna told AFP.
The incident again raises concerns about the Himalayan nation's aviation sector, which has come under fire from international authorities after a series of fatal accidents.
The European Union in December blacklisted all the country's airlines and banned them from flying to the EU.
Nepal, which counts tourism as a major contributor to its economy, has suffered a number of air crashes in recent years, which have usually been attributed to inexperienced pilots, poor management and maintenance.
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