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A Nepal airlines plane with 23 people -- 20 passengers and three crew members -- that went missing on Wednesday morning has crashed and all people on board have been killed, said Civil Aviation Minister Ananda Prasad Pokharel.
The minister quoted Nepal Army officials at the crash site in Myagdi district as confirming the crash.
"The plane has crashed and all its occupants have been killed," the minister said.
The Tara Air Viking 9N-AHH Twin Otter took off from Pokhara at 7.47 a.m., said deputy director of Pokhara airport Yogendra Kumar. It was headed to Jomsom town in Mustang district.
"The weather at Pokhara and Jomsom is fine today (Wednesday). So we have no clue about what went wrong," said Bhim Raj Rai, media officer at Tara Airlines.
But the areas adjoining the suspected crash site were covered in a cloud of dust on Tuesday following dry landslides in Mt Annapurna South base since Monday night.
Tara Air has released the list of passengers on board that includes one Chinese and one Kuwaiti national and two children.
The expected flying time for the plane from Pokhara to Jomsom town is approximately 20 minutes.
"See you again, good day" were the last words from the plane's senior captain Roshan Manandhar.
Mustang district is located beyond the Himalayas and any flight has to cross difficult geographical terrain and deep rocky cliffs.
Myagdi district police chief Bishowraj Khadka said locals informed the police about huge flames in Rupse area and that they were headed to it, the Kathmandu Post reported.
A police team has been sent to the border of Myagdi and Mustang districts after locals reported a fire in the area. Three helicopters also have been sent for rescue, said Hari Mainali, chief district officer of Kaski district.
Myagdi district is located between Kaski and Mustang districts.
The aircraft was added to the Tara Air fleet last September.
