Kathmandu, May 31 :The black box of the ill-fated Tara Air plane that crashed on Sunday killing all 22 on board, including four Indians, has been recovered, even as authorities started bringing the bodies to Kathmandu.
Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma of Mustang said all the bodies of the 22 people who were onboard the Tara Air plane that crashed in Sanusare, Thasang Rural Municipality-2 of Mustang on Sunday, have been recovered.
A total of 10 bodies were brought to Kathmandu on Monday evening from Pokhara by the Nepal Army.
The rest of the bodies have been shifted to Kobang from the crash site and would be airlifted to Kathmandu.
The black box has also been recovered from the crash site, said CDO Sharma.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the black box would be transported to Kathmandu.
The wreckage of the Tara Air plane was found on Monday morning, 19 hours after it went missing.
Due to the geographical remoteness and adverse weather conditions, the search and the recovery mission were delayed. The wreckage was found scattered at an altitude of 4,200 meters, a four-hour uphill hike from the center of Thasang Village Municipality.
Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, Sherpas and locals reached the crash site on Monday and collected the bodies of the passengers.
Bishal Gharti, a resident of Badigad Rural Municipality-7 of Baglung, who had gone to pick Yarchagumba (wild mushrooms) at around 7 am on Monday had spotted the plane wreckage and informed the police. He had sent a photo and video of the scene to the police after seeing the wreckage.
The dead bodies of the passengers and their belongings were strewn on a cliff at a height of 4,200 meters. It was challenging for the rescuers to negotiate the difficult geography which was further compounded due to fog, rain, and snow on Sunday.
It takes four hours to trek to reach the accident site from Kobang, the center of Thasang Rural Municipality.
Some 100 Nepal Army persons and Armed Police, Nepal Police, and locals had reached the accident site for the rescue. However, a group of 14 trained Nepal Army and Police persons stayed at Sanosera in a tent.
A local who visited the accident site, Indra Singh Sherchan, said it seemed that the plane hit the mountain and broke with the impact. The wreckage was found in the gorge and dead bodies scattered in the hills, he added.
The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate the Tara Air aircraft crash.
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on Monday said it has formed the commission led by senior Aeronautical Engineer Ratish Chandra Lal Suman.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, the commission has been mandated to find out the reason for the crash and recommend measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
The plane flown by Captain Prabhakar Ghimire was carrying 22 persons including three crew members and 19 passengers. The passengers included 13 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans.
It was flying at an altitude of 12,825 feet when it lost contact at 10:07 on Sunday morning, according to Flightradar data.
