Nineteen die in Nepal plane crash

Nineteen people, including seven Britons, were killed when a plane carrying trekkers to the Everest region crashed just after take-off in Nepal’s capital today.

The crash killed all of those on board.

The pilot reported trouble two minutes after take-off, and Kathmandu airport official Ratish Chandra Suman said the plane appeared to have been trying to turn back.

He could not confirm if the plane was already on fire before it crashed.

The twin-engine propeller plane belonging to domestic Sita Air crashed on to open ground near the Manohara River on the south-west edge of Katmandu. The morning weather was clear.

Firefighters brought the fire in the wreckage under control and police rescuers were trying to pull out the bodies, Katmandu airport police chief Narayan Bastakoti said.

Seven passengers were British while five were Chinese, Mr Bastakoti said. The other three passengers and the four crew members were from Nepal.

The plane was heading for Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest. Thousands of Westerners make treks in the region around the world’s highest peak each year. Autumn is considered the best time to trek the foothills of the Himalayan peaks.

The crash follows an avalanche on another Nepal peak on Sunday that killed seven foreign climbers and a Nepali guide.