Rescuers in western Nepal have discovered the ruins of a passenger plane which went missing with 23 people on board.

The Twin Otter aircraft, ran by Tara Air, was going from Pokhara to Jomsom and lost contact with the control tower shortly after taking to the air. Officials say the chances of finding survivors are thin.

According to Sanjiv Gautam, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the plane's ruins were found near the village of Dana in Myagdi district. The identities of those on board have yet to be given out.

Three helicopters were conducting search operation for the missing plane, Tara Air said earlier on its website, adding that "the weather at both origin and destination airports was favourable" for the 20-minute trip.

However, Nepal's army said that fog had been hindering the search for the Twin Otter.

There are no landing strips between Pokhara and Jomsom. The plane took off at around 0750 local time (0205 GMT).

Since 1949, the year the first aircraft was introduced in Nepal, there have been more than 70 different accidents involving planes and helicopters, in which more than 700 people have died.