KATHMANDU, May 29: Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand has instructed the authorities concerned to leave no stone unturned to find out the status of a Tara Air plane that lost contact while it was en route to Jomsom, Mustang, from Pokhara of Kaski earlier this morning.
The home minister telephoned Kaski Chief District Officer (CDO) Jay Narayan Acharya, Gandaki Province Police Chief Deputy Inspector General Diwesh Lohani and Mustang CDO Netra Prasad Sharma and directed them to intensify the search operations for the missing aircraft.
Search for missing Tara Air plane underway: Nepal Army
The plane that took off from Pokhara at 9:55 AM for Jomsom was in contact with the traffic controller and it was flying above Lete of Mustang when it had its last contact with the aviation system and team, said the Kaski CDO. According to the aviation technical force, the aircraft was last tracked taking a turn toward the Dhaulagiri Peak.
Mustang CDO Sharma said following the instruction from the home minister, security officials of five districts adjoining the Dhaulagiri Peak have been urged to stay alert.
As he said, a helicopter of Fishtail Air has already flown toward Mustang to search for the aircraft.
Similarly until the filing of this report, preparations were underway to send a Nepal Army helicopter from Kathmandu to Mustang to help in the search operation.
It is said that 22 people - 13 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans and three crew members are onboard the plane.
