Hospital employees put inside a 4WD victims of the Nepalese plane crash, for transport to the morgue after the rescue team brought the bodies by helicopter from Pokhara in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Feb. 25 (Photo : Getty Images)
A Chinese national was among 23 people killed when an aircraft of crashed in central Nepal, according a spokesman from the airline.
"Among the 18 passengers, two are foreigners including one Chinese and one Kuwaiti national," Bhim Raj Rai, Media Officer at Tara Airlines, told the state-owned Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday.
The Chinese national was identified as a Hong Kong resident with the surname Mak, said Xinhua. The aircraft was carrying 18 passengers including two infants and three crew members.
The Twin Otter aircraft was flying from the city of Pokhara to Jomsom municipality on Wednesday morning when it lost contact a few minutes after taking off from the airport. It was later found to have crashed in a heavily forested area in Myagdi district, some 300 km from the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu.
According to police, the plane was completely engulfed by fire after colliding into the trees.
"The plane is still burning [when we arrived]. Some bodies are scattered outside whereas some are still inside the plane. There are no signs of lives [sic], the bodies are not in identifiable position at all," a police officer told Xinhua over the phone.
Most of the bodies were retrieved on Wednesday evening and were charred beyond recognition, said Bishwa Raj Khadka, deputy police superintendent for Myagdi district.
Myagdi residents saw flames shooting up from a forest and called security officials, Nepali Tourism and Aviation Minister Ananda Pokharel told CNN.
Tara Air said in a statement on its website that it is working to assist the families and friends of the passengers and crew.
"We cannot undo the pain and grief they feel, but we can share their burden of dealing with this tragedy," the company said.
The Twin Otter plane is not the first aircraft to have crashed along the same route, which is known for its harsh weather and rugged terrain.
In 2012, an Agni Air plane flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed, killing 15 of its 21 passengers.
