A small passenger plane operated by a private airline in Nepal went missing on Sunday with 22 people on board, including four Indians, reports said.

The Tara Air 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft lost contact while flying from Pokhara, some 200 km northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, to Jomsom, about 80 km to the northwest, officials told media.

The aircraft, which was on a 15-minute scheduled flight, lost contact shortly after take-off at 9:55 am local time.

“The aircraft was seen over the sky of Jomsom in Mustang district and then had diverted to Mt. Dhaulagiri after which it hadn’t come into contact,” Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The aircraft took off with four Indian and three Japanese nationals.

The remaining were Nepali citizens and the aircraft had 22 passengers including the crew, according to the State Television.

As per the police officials, the aircraft has been suspected to have crashed in the “Titi” area of Lete in the mountainous Mustang district, which is the fifth-largest district of the Himalayan nation and hosts the pilgrimage of Muktinath Temple, said reports.