'Very Little Chance' of Survivors in Nepal Crash

The bodies of 20 of the 22 people aboard the Tara Air plane that slammed into the side of a Nepal mountain Sunday have been recovered, and Reuters reports that hopes for the remaining two are dwindling rapidly. "There is very little chance to find survivors," says Deo Chandra Lal Karna, a rep for Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. A villager among the group that found the wreckage after following the scent of jet fuel says the plane appeared to have clipped a smaller mountaintop before hitting a larger mountain, per the AP.

The Tara Air turboprop Twin Otter lost contact with the airport tower on Sunday while flying on a scheduled 20-minute flight in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops. Four Indians and two Germans were on the plane, Tara Air said. The three crew members and other passengers were Nepali nationals, it said. The wreckage was located by villagers who had been searching in the area for the Yarsagumba fungus, which is commonly referred to as Himalayan Viagra. Aerial photos of the crash site showed aircraft parts scattered on rocks and moss on the side of a mountain gorge. According to tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43-year-old aircraft took off from Pokhara at 9:55am and transmitted its last signal at 10:07am at an altitude of 12,825 feet. The plane's destination is popular with foreign hikers, and with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple.