Bodies of Thane family identifiable upon recovery, efforts being made to send mortal remains: Nepal Police spokesperson

The wreckage of a Twin Otter aircraft, operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air, laying on a mountainside in Mustang, a day after it crashed. Pic/AFP

The bodies of four members of the Thane family, who were onboard the ill-fated plane that crashed in Nepal's Mustang district, were identifiable, the Nepal Police has said.

In a telephonic conversation with mid-day.com, Nepal's Central Police spokesperson, SSP Bishnu Kumar KC, said, "Twenty bodies have been recovered so far and search for the remaining two is underway. The bodies are being transported to Kathmandu through helicopters. Four Indians who died in the crash were identifiable and therefore no DNA test was needed. Efforts are being made to send their mortal remains back to the country."

The airline had identified the four Indians as Ashok Kumar Tripathy, his wife Vaibhavi Bandekar (Tripathy) and their children Dhanush and Ritika. The family was based in Thane. When contacted, the Indian embassy in Nepal said it had contacted the Maharashtra Police following the death of the Thane family.

In a statement, The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said the plane had crashed in Thasang-2 in Mustang district at the height of 14,500 feet. The Tara Air plane reportedly took off at 9:55 am from Pokhara and lost contact with air traffic control about 12 minutes later at 10:07 am. "Pieces of the wreckage of the aircraft were found after nearly 20 hours since the plane went missing," the Nepal Army said on Monday.

Bishnu added, "As of now the primary reason behind the crash is not known. A probe team is being formed to investigate the cause of the crash."