Weather conditions and poor visibility complicate search tasks
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File photo of a Tara Air plane in Nepal.
A plane with 22 people on board disappeared this Sunday in a mountainous area of Nepal, reported the airline Tara Air, also explaining that the complicated weather conditions make search tasks difficult.
“A domestic flight bound for Jomsom that took off in Pokhara (central-west) lost contact”, was the statement given by AFP Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesman for Tara Air. As he also explained that there were 19 passengers and 3 crew members on the plane. “We are trying to locate the area where the plane could be found,” Bartaula also added.
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The plane’s last known location was near Ghorepani, a town located 2,874 meters above sea level, according to air authorities.
Two helicopters were mobilized for search operationsBut these will be tricky as weather conditions significantly reduce visibility, Phanindra Mani Pokharel, spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior stated: “Bad weather is likely to hamper the search operation. There is so little visibility that you can’t see anything.”
The Civil Aviation Authority indicated that in addition to helicopters, army personnel have been deployed for search operations, from the police and members of the Himalayan Rescue Association.
“Right now we can’t say exactly where the plane is and in what condition. There have been no reports from local residents of a major fire or other indications,” said Dev Raj Subedi, Pokhara airport spokesman.
Jomsom is a popular destination for lovers of trekking in the Himalayas, about 20 minutes by plane from Pokhara, which is 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu.
Air transport in Nepal has grown a lot in recent years, thanks to the high number of tourists, a large part of them mountain lovers, and also to trade in remote places that can be accessed in another way.
But this poor Himalayan country has a dismal safety record due to poorly trained pilots and aircraft maintenance problems. The European Union has prohibited all Nepalese airlines from accessing its airspace for security reasons.
The country also has very dangerous runways, located between snow-capped mountains.
In March 2018, a plane from the Bangladeshi company US-Bangla Airlines crashed near the Kathmandu airport, killing 51 people.
The most dramatic accident occurred in 1992, when 167 people lost their lives when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed near Kathmandu airport.
Two months before, a Thai Airways plane had crashed in this same area and 113 people died.
In development…