17 bodies recovered after plane crashes in Nepal mountains

• 17 bodies were found after a plane carrying 22 people crashed in Nepal's mountains.
• A Tara Air spokesperson said rescuers believe some bodies are stuck under the plane.

A plane crashed in the mountains of Nepal on Sunday, killing at least 17 of the 22 people on board.

Rescuers on Monday were said still to be looking for the remaining five.

The Tara Air plane was around 15 minutes into a 20-minute flight when it lost contact with air traffic control, the BBC reported.

It took off from Pokhara, and was travelling to the mountain town of Jomsom, per Sky News.

Officials said on Monday afternoon that 17 bodies had been recovered from the crash site, and the search was continuing for the other people, The Associated Press reported.

It was not clear if any of the remaining five people could still be alive.

Sudarshan Bartaula, a spokesperson for the airline, said that rescuers believed that some bodies were stuck under the plane.

He said that the rescuers had no tools that would let them reach those bodies and were left using their hands.

It took around 24 hours for rescuers to find the wreckage in the mountains, the BBC reported.

A cause for the crash has not been given.

The plane, a de Havilland Twin Otter, was 43 years old.