KATHMANDU: The Indian Embassy in Nepal on Wednesday condoled the death of 22 people, including four Indian nationals, in the Tara Air plane crash and said its thoughts are with the families of the victims and their loved ones.
The turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane was carrying four Indians, two Germans and 13 Nepali passengers, besides a three-member Nepali crew when it crashed in Nepal's mountainous Mustang district minutes after taking off from the tourist city of Pokhara on Sunday.
"We condole the loss of 22 precious lives including 4 Indian nationals in the tragic crash of Tara Air flight on its way from Pokhara to Jomsom on 29th May. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and their loved ones," the Indian mission tweeted.
The last rites of the four members of an Indian family who were killed in the plane crash are expected to be performed at the sacred Pashupatinath Temple here after their post-mortem, sources said on Tuesday.
Businessman Ashok Kumar Tripathi (54) and his Thane-based estranged wife Vaibhavi Bandekar Tripathi (51) were on a reunion trip to the Himalayan country along with their son Dhanush (22) and daughter Ritika (15), when the tragedy struck on Sunday.
The last rites would be performed at the Pashupatinath Temple once the family receives the bodies of the victims after the post-mortem, sources at the Indian embassy earlier said. The Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, situated along the banks of the Bagmati River, is one of the most important Hindu temples in Nepal.
All the 22 bodies of the victims of plane crash were currently at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital where post-mortem was being conducted. The bodies will be handed to the families of the victims after the post-mortem. Rescuers on Monday recovered 21 bodies from the wreckage site of the plane belonging to Tara Air.
On Tuesday, the last body was also retrieved from the wreckage site. The bodies of 10 victims were brought to Kathmandu on Monday and the bodies of the remaining 12 were brought here by a Nepal Army helicopter on Tuesday.
Due to the geographical remoteness and adverse weather conditions, the search and the recovery mission were delayed. The plane was found scattered at an altitude of 4,200 metres, a four-hour uphill hike from the centre of Thasang Village Municipality.
The government has formed a five-member commission of inquiry headed by senior aeronautical engineer Ratish Chandra Lal Suman to find out the cause of the Tara Air plane crash, officials said.