With 22 passengers on board, a plane operated by a private airline in Nepal has gone missing.
The Tara Air jet took off from Pokhara, a tourist resort 80 miles (125 kilometers) west of Kathmandu, and was bound for Jomsom, approximately 48 miles to the northwest, according to officials.
Tara Air mostly operates Twin Otter turboprop planes produced in Canada.
Officials said cloudy weather is preventing search helicopters from flying into the location of the plane’s last known location.
“Due to bad weather, one search helicopter returned to Jomsom without locating the plane,” Nepal’s civil aviation authority said in a statement.
“If indeed the weather improves, helicopters from Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Jomsom will be ready to hunt.” Army and police search teams have arrived at the location.”
The jet was carrying four Indians, two Germans, and 16 Nepalis, including three crew members, according to the airline.
According to an airline employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the jet lost touch with the control tower five minutes before it was scheduled to land in Jomsom, a tourist and pilgrimage destination.
Since the morning, dense cloud cover has been present in the Pokhara-Jomson area, according to the country’s weather service.
A ground rescue and search team has been dispatched to the region near Mount Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh-highest peak at 8,167 meters, according to a police officer, Prem Kumar Dani (26,795 ft).