The Nepal Civil Aviation Authority said on Twitter that the bodies had been collected and had not yet been identified.
Prem Nath Thakur, general manager of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, told CNN earlier on Monday that bad weather remained a concern, but efforts to locate the remaining passengers would continue for as long as possible.
“Search and rescue teams at the site are going through the rubble,” Thakur said. After all the passengers are found, their bodies will be sent to Kathmandu.”
Searches by the Nepal Army and Nepal Police resumed Monday morning after being halted late Sunday due to lack of light and stormy weather, which prevented helicopters from flying to the area of the last known flight site.
An airport spokesman said the site where the wreck was found is at an altitude of 14,500 feet. The spokesman added that investigators are also looking into a valley between two mountains.
The Nepal Civil Aviation Authority said the plane was on its way from Pokhara city to the popular tourist town of Jomsom in central Nepal on Sunday, when it lost contact with air traffic about 12 minutes into the flight. Journeys between the two cities usually take 20-25 minutes.
Authorities believe the cause of the accident was bad weather, according to Binod PK, an official at the Nepali Ministry of Home Affairs.
It had 19 passengers and three crew members on board. The ministry said two Germans, four Indians and 13 Nepalese were among the 22 passengers on board. The nationalities of the two passengers are unknown.
An airline official told Reuters, asking not to be named, that the plane lost contact with the control tower five minutes before landing in Jomsom. Tara Air primarily operates Twin Otter turboprop aircraft. Flight tracker Flightradar24 said the missing plane made its maiden flight in April 1979.
Pokhara is located 129 kilometers (80 miles) west of Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital.
Nepal, home to eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, has a record of air accidents. Its weather can change suddenly and the airstrips are usually in mountainous locations that are difficult to reach.
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