Kathmandu. A small Nepalese private plane carrying 22 people, including four Indians, went missing in a mountainous area on Sunday morning after taking off from the tourist town of Pokhara in Nepal. Officials gave this information. A Tara Air airline spokesperson said that Tara Air's 'Twin Otter 9N-AET' aircraft took off from Pokhara at 10.15 am, but lost contact with the tower after 15 minutes. There were four Indian, two German, and 13 Nepalese passengers on board the plane besides three Nepalese crew members, the spokesman said.

The crew members were led by Captain Prabhakar Prasad Ghimire. Aviation sources said the plane was supposed to land at Jomsom airport in the western hills, but the plane lost contact with the tower in the sky over Ghorepani on the Pokhara-Jomsom air route. According to an air traffic controller at Jomsom airport, there has been an unconfirmed report of a loud sound in Ghasa, Jomsom.

The newspaper 'MyRepublica' quoted Ram Kumar Dani, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Mustang, as saying that it is suspected that the plane crashed in the Dhaulagiri area. Dani said a helicopter had been dispatched from Jomsom to search for the plane.

Troubled Sri Lanka is exploring options to buy oil from Russia. A senior minister said on Sunday. Sri Lanka is desperate to replenish its dwindling fuel stocks amid an unprecedented economic crisis due to a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves. On Sunday, the price of petrol was hiked by LKR 50 and diesel by LKR 60 respectively, which is the third price revision in two months.

State-owned refinery Ceylon Petroleum Corporation on Saturday informed the Sri Lankan government that the move was necessitated after the arrival of fuel shipments was delayed due to banking and logistical reasons. Given the dire scenario, Sri Lanka's Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera stressed that the government is exploring options to buy oil from Russia. He said, “We are looking for diplomatic channels. The last ship to arrive was a Russian ship."

Two ministers to visit Russia on Monday
Wijesekera said on Sunday that our first letter of credit was rejected by international banks because the ship was owned by a Russian company. He said the two ministers are scheduled to visit Russia on Monday to discuss fuel and other diplomatic matters. Let us tell you that last week, the Sri Lankan government approached several companies suggested by the Russian Embassy in Colombo for the purchase of crude oil.

"Meanwhile, the government has also decided to implement a token system for the supply of fuel to the people waiting in the queue at the filling station," Wijesekera said. The minister said, “This program will be implemented from Monday, for which the government has sought the help of the soldiers from the police and the army.”

shortage of essentials in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, due to which food, medicine, cooking gas, and fuel are being sold across the country. There has been a severe shortage of essential commodities like