‘No one is alive’: At least 21 bodies are recovered in Nepal plane crash

Rescue workers recovered 21 bodies on Monday after a daylong effort to reach the site of a plane crash in the rocky heights of the Himalayas, according to officials in Nepal. The Canadian-made De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, operated by Tara Air and carrying 19 passengers and three crew members, took off on Sunday morning from the central Nepali city of Pokhara and was headed for Jomsom, a tourist destination popular with trekkers. The flight normally takes about 30 minutes, but the plane went down in bad weather with 13 Nepalis, four Hindu pilgrims from India and two German trekkers on board. Officials said they did not expect to find any survivors. “We recovered 21 dead bodies,” said Netra Prasad Sharma, the chief administrator of Mustang District, where the crash occurred. “One is still missing.” Sharma said rescue work had been halted in the late afternoon because of bad weather. Earlier on Monday, rainfall and fog made it difficult for rescuers to reach the site. Helicopters deployed on Sunday by the Nepali Army and private companies were diverted to Kathmandu, the capital, and Pokhara because of low visibility. After conditions improved on Monday morning, a helicopter carrying a senior army official, a police inspector and a guide reached the location, at an elevation of 14,500 feet near the village of Thasang. A total of 15 rescuers had reached the spot by noon, the authorities said. “No one is alive,” said Narendra Shahi, an international mountain guide, who was sent to the crash site as part of the rescue operation. “The plane has crashed into pieces. It’s so heartbreaking.”<br/>