A small passenger plane with 20 passengers, including two children and three crew members on board crashed into a mountainous region of western Nepal on Wednesday morning.
All 23 people on board were killed, civil aviation authority official Shankar Koirala confirmed, according to Himalaya Times. The authority said the Tara Twin-Otter plane crashed in Rupse Chhahari of Myagdi district.
"The wreckage of the plane was found in a completely burnt state in Myagdi district," aviation minister Aananda Prasad Pokharel said, according to AFP. The victims include one Chinese national, identified as Maksiuying, and one Kuwait national, identified as Ralfashed Ahamed.
The passenger plane, run by Tara Air, took off Wednesday morning from Pokhara airport, airline spokesman Bhim Rai said, according to CNN. It was flying to Jomsom and was supposed to reach its destination in 19 minutes, but it lost contact with the air traffic control tower a few minutes after takeoff.
Nepalese authorities have identified 18 adult passengers, according to myRepublica. The names of victims are: Rewati Baral, Muktinath Baskota, Binita Bhattachan, Krishna Lal Bhattachan, Dil Kumari Gauchhan, Devejung Gurung, Fhenjock Gurung, Laxmi Hirachan, Moti Bahadur, Pabitra KC, Leprang Lama, Bal Krishna Neure, Kanchha Pariyar, Dolma Thsering Sherpa, Raj Kumar Taman and Kamala Thakali. However, the identities of the two children have not been released.