Authorities in Bangladesh and Nepal are scrambling to contain and treat the disease - which is also known as 'breakbone fever' for the severe muscle and joint pains it induces.

The rains, which lash the Himalayan nation from June to September, kill scores of people every year, and many more go missing as the monsoon triggers landslides and floods.

The Manang Air flight was heading for the capital Kathmandu from near Lukla, with five members of the same Mexican family and a Nepali pilot onboard.

As climate change heats the planet, making rainfall more extreme and accelerating the melting of glaciers, Himalayan nations such as Nepal are facing growing risks from floods, often driven by glacial lake outbursts.

Sixty-eight bodies have been collected so far.

Six children were among those on board the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop aircraft when it plummeted into a steep gorge, smashed into pieces and burst into flames.

Sobhraj was responsible for multiple murders of young foreigners in the 1970s across Asia.

The ruling alliance and the main opposition Nepal Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist party need the support of smaller groups to form a new government.

Political stability has proven elusive for the poor nation, wedged between China and India, discouraging many investors.

The close-packed slum homes, set amid small patches of rice fields, are testament to how much migration has filled in the once-abundant green spaces on the banks of the Manohara River over the last 20 years.

Tourism earnings increased more than three times to US$201.8 million in the 11 months to end mid-June, compared with the same period a year earlier, though they are still well below pre-pandemic levels.

Air traffic control lost contact with the Twin Otter aircraft operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air shortly after taking off from Pokhara in western Nepal on Sunday morning headed for Jomsom, a popular trekking destination.