A SMALL plane flying 19 people towards Mount Everest has crashed on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital, killing everyone on board including seven Britons and five Chinese.
The Sita Air Dornier aircraft had just taken off from Kathmandu airport and was headed to the small town of Lukla, a gateway to the world's highest mountain, when it plunged into the banks of a river near the city.
Witnesses described hearing the screams of passengers and seeing flames coming from one of the plane's wings moments before it hit the ground.
National police spokesman Binod Singh said there were no survivors.
It was the sixth fatal air crash in Nepal in the last two years, with 76 lives lost in that period before today, raising fresh questions about the safety record of the country's numerous small airlines.
“The crash has caused the death of 12 foreigners, including seven British and five Chinese tourists. The remaining seven, including three crew members, are Nepalese,” Singh said.
The spokesman said that the plane had crashed less than one kilometre from the airport at around 6:30am local time, next to the Manohara river.
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