Plane goes missing in Nepal with 21 on board

A passenger plane has gone missing in a mountainous area of Nepal, with 21 people on board, two of them children.

The Twin Otter aircraft had lost contact with air traffic control eight minutes after taking off.

The airline said the plane was carrying three crew and 18 passengers, one a Chinese and one a Kuwaiti national. All the others were from Nepal and two were children.

“We have dispatched three helicopters on a search and rescue mission. We will provide updates as they come,” said a statement posted on its website.

“The weather at both origin and destination airports was favourable and the airport cleared for departure by the control tower at Pokhara,” said the statement.

A Nepal Army spokesperson, however, said fog was hampering the search for the Twin Otter plane.

“Our rescue teams have been deployed, but the weather was not clear in the morning,” said army spokesperson Tara Bahadur Karki.

“They are still out looking at possible areas, but the plane has not been located yet.”