Passenger plane crashes in Nepal, killing all 23 on board

A small passenger plane has crashed in mountainous western Nepal, killing all 23 people on board.

The Twin Otter aircraft, operated by Tara Air, was travelling from Pokhara to Jomsom and lost contact with the control tower shortly after taking off.

Pokhara is a resort town some 200 kilometres west of the capital Kathmandu. Jomsom, a short distance further north, is the starting point for many people trekking in the Himalayas.

It is not clear what caused the crash.

The plane was carrying three crew and 20 passengers, one of them Chinese and one Kuwaiti, and the rest Nepali. The identities of those on board have yet to be released. Two of those on board were children.

Nepal's aviation industry has a poor safety record.

According to Sanjiv Gautam, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the plane's wreckage was found near the village of Dana in Myagdi district.

The aircraft reportedly lost contact with the control tower at Pokhara 10 minutes after take-off.

Three helicopters were sent to search for the missing plane, Tara Air said on its website, adding that "the weather at both origin and destination airports was favourable" for the 20-minute flight.

Nepal's army said, however, that fog had hampered the search for the aircraft.