Tara Airlines plane missing in Nepal mountains after taking off from pokhara airport
Yaks carrying mountaineering equipments return to base camp after Mount Everest expeditions were cancelled in Solukhumbu district April 27, 2014. Reuters

A small plane with 21 people on board has gone missing in a mountainous region in Nepal, an airport official said.

Reports say the missing aircraft is a Twin Otter operated by Nepal's Tara airlines.

The plane, which was on an 18-minute flight on Wednesday, lost contact after takeoff from Pokhara, airport official Yogengra Kumar said, according to ABC News.

The plane was heading from the resort town west of Kathmandu to Jomsom in the north, which is close to base camps for trekkers in the nearby mountains.

More details awaited