KATHMANDU: Rescuers in Nepal so far recovered 14 bodies from the crash site of a plane that went missing with 22 people on board, an official said on Monday.

The wreckage of the plane, operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air, was recovered in Mustang district in northern Nepal.

“Fourteen bodies have been recovered so far, search continues for the remaining,” the country’s Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Deo Chandra Lal Karn told AFP a day after the crash. “The weather is very bad but we were able to take a team to the crash site.”

The search is ongoing for the remaining passengers, the official added.

Four Indians, two Germans and 16 Nepalis were on board the plane, according to reports. But search operations were hampered by bad weather and mountainous terrain, and only resumed on Monday morning.

The aircraft was on a 20-minute flight before losing contact with the control tower.

It had taken off from the tourist town of Pokhara, 125 kilometres (80 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, and was bound for Jomsom, about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Pokhara, a popular tourist and pilgrimage site.

Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said the aircraft, with registration number 9N-AET, made its first flight in April 1979.

Deo Chandra Lal Karna, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) spokesperson, said five helicopters were ready to help with the rescue process.

Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents. Its weather can change suddenly and airstrips are typically located in mountainous areas that are hard to reach.

In early 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines flight from Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed on landing and caught fire, killing 51 of the 71 people on board.