Tragedy as SEVEN Britons among 19 killed in Kathmandu plane crash
The group were booked to go on a trekking trip in the region around Mount Everest.
Nepalese police said the Brits were killed along with five Chinese people, as well as three passengers and four crew members from the Himalayan country.
The twin-engine propeller plane crashed shortly after take-off near Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed there were British fatalities and said it was “urgently” seeking to confirm the number and their identities.
Horror ... hundreds of locals surround burning plane
The plane, belonging to Nepal’s domestic airline Sita Air was heading east towards Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest and a popular destination for trekkers.
It crashed near the Manohara River to the south west of the city.
Witnesses say it burst into flames and came down in a field, reports said. Weather in Kathmandu was clear at the time of the crash.
Killed ... emergency services douse flames of burning aircraft - believed to be carrying 7 Brits
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 to the airport.
The airport’s police chief, Narayan Bastakoti, said firefighters brought the blaze in the wreckage under control and police rescuers were trying to pull out the bodies.
He also confirmed that seven passengers were British and five were Chinese. The other three passengers and the four crew members were from Nepal, he said.
Wreckage ... locals gather at site of crash near Katmandu, Nepal
A spokeswoman for local travel company Sherpa Adventures said the group had arrived in Nepal on Wednesday and were due to begin trekking today
She said they were on their way to the Khumbu area in the north east of the country, also known as the Everest region.
They were due to be trekking until October 16 and were with two Nepalese leaders.
SMALL passenger plane crashes near Nepalese capital Kathmandu, killing 19 people including 7 Britons
Thousands of Westerners head to the Himalayas every year to trek in the region around Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. Autumn is considered the best time to trek in the area.
The crash follows an avalanche on another Nepal peak on Sunday that killed seven foreign climbers and a Nepali guide.
Trek ... thousands of Westernenrs head to Himalayas every year to trek region around Mt Everest
Footage taken by witnesses using mobile phones showed the front section of the plane was on fire when it first hit the ground, and that it appeared the pilot had attempted to land the plane on open ground beside a river.
The fire quickly spread to the rear, but the tail was still in one piece at the crash site, reported to be near a slum about 500m from Kathmandu’s Tribhuwan International Airport.
Villagers were unable to approach the plane because of the fire and it took some time for firefighters to reach the area and bring the blaze under control.
Soldiers and police sifted through the crash wreckage looking for bodies and documents to help identify the victims.
Crash ... mobile phones footage showed the plane's front section was on fire when it first hit the ground
Bodies were taken by vans to the city’s hospital morgue.
Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the crash and identify the bodies, and Mr Suman said he could not confirm if the plane was already on fire before it crashed.
Reports suggested the accident was caused by a bird strike.
The flight was one of the first to take off from Kathmandu’s airport, and departed at about 6.15am local time. Other flights reported no problems, and the airport was operating normally.
Aftermath ... villagers were initially unable to approach the plane because of the intense blaze
English mountaineer Alan Hinkes, who has been climbing in the Himalayas for more than 20 years, asid he had taken the flight from Kathmandu to Lukla many times previously, and that problems usually occurred at the Lukla end.
He said: “It is ironic that it has crashed in Kathmandu. You are usually worried about it happening at the other end.
“The landing strip in Lukla is a bit like an aircraft carrier with a mountain at the end of it, with a 1,000ft drop at the end of the runway. Normally crashes happen at that end.”
Mr Hinkes said it was unlikely the victims would have been planning to climb Everest, but were more likely to be trekkers or people attempting other mountains in the Everest region.
Destruction ... firefighters brought the fire under control before police rescuers attempted to pull out the charred bodies
He said: “There is quite good weather in October and November for climbing the mountains around Everest.
“It is a bit worrying and upsetting. There are a lot of people and friends I know who go out at this time of year leading treks. It is quite alarming. I have lost a few friends in plane crashes in Nepal over the last 20 years.
“It is not the safest place to fly, I must admit, but it is what you have to do to get into the mountains.”
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “The British embassy can confirm that there was an air crash near Kathmandu airport earlier this morning.
“We can confirm that there were British national fatalities. The embassy remains in contact with the Nepalese authorities.
“The ambassador has already gone to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.”
The Foreign Office has set up a helpline for concerned relatives on 0207 008 1500.
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