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

According to developing reports, the Tara Air 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft was flying from the tourist town of Pokhara, some 200 km northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, to Jomsom, about 80 km to the northwest.

"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.

Nepal, home to the world's highest mountain, does have a record of accidents on its extensive domestic air network, with changeable weather and airstrips in difficult mountain locations.