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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Twenty-Three Dead In Nepal Plane Crash

A family member cries as he waits at the airport after a Twin Otter plane, operated by private Tara Air, crashed in bad weather, in Pokhara
A plane has crashed in a mountainous area of Nepal, killing all 23 people on board.
Rescuers launched a desperate search for the jet after it went missing in bad weather, minutes after taking off. 
Nepal's interior minister Aananda Prasad Pokharel said the burnt wreckage was found several hours later in the remote Myagdi district.
He said bodies could be seen scattered amongst the wreckage.
Initial investigations suggest the plane flew directly into a mountain, police official Harihari Yogi said.
Map of Nepal
The Twin Otter aircraft, operated by domestic airline Tara Air, lost contact after taking off from Pokhara - a resort town west of Kathmandu.
Officials said it was heading north on a short 20-minute flight to Jomsom, the starting point for trekkers going into the mountains.
The flight, only possible for small aircraft, takes passengers directly between mountains.
Among those on board were two foreign citizens - one from China and one from Kuwait.
File picture shows a Twin Otter aircraft belonging to Tara Air is pictured at Tenzing Hillary Airport, in Lukla, approximately 2800 meters above sea level, in Solukhumbu district, Nepal
The remaining passengers were Nepalese, two of them children.
No British citizens are thought to have been on board.
Earlier, Jomsom's police chief said rescue efforts were focused on the village of Rupshe, where residents reported hearing a large explosion.
Nepal, which is still reeling from last April's devastating earthquake, has suffered a number of air disasters in recent years.
Most have been blamed on inadequate maintenance and inexperienced pilots.

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