A small passenger plane with 22 people on board has gone missing soon after taking off from an airport in eastern Nepal, officials said on Wednesday.

The Canadian-built Twin Otter aircraft belonging to Tara Airlines, a private company, lost contact with the control tower of the airport at Lamidanda in Khotang district of eastern Nepal minutes after it took off from there.

The plane, which was flying to Kathmandu from Lamidanda, was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members. It went missing at 3.40 pm local time, the officials said.

Two search helicopters have been sent to locate the missing aircraft, according to airport officials in Kathmandu.

However, the Lamidanda-Kathmandu route is over mountainous terrain which may make the search operation difficult. The passengers were returning to Kathmandu after visiting the Hindu temple 'Halesi Mahade'.