Nepal tourist plane crash kills all 14 on board



The plane was reportedly called back because of bad weather


A passenger plane has crashed into hills outside Nepal's capital in heavy rain, killing all 14 people on board, officials say.

The Dornier plane crashed near Shikharpur village, 80km (50 miles) south of Kathmandu.

The plane was reportedly carrying six foreigners, including four Americans and one Japanese. The British embassy has confirmed one UK man was killed.

Witnesses said the Agni Air plane had broken into small pieces.

The US embassy in Kathmandu said it was still trying to confirm the nationality of the passengers.

The British embassy said the next of kin of the Briton had been informed.

Hampered The plane had been flying to Lukla, a popular trekking spot in the Mount Everest region of eastern Nepal.

The airline authority said the plane was called back because of bad weather.



At 12 nautical miles from Kathmandu airport, the plane radioed in and said it was beginning its descent. Radar contact was lost at 10 nautical miles.

An airport official said the search-and-rescue operation was being hampered by bad weather.

A witness said the plane broke into pieces upon impact.

"There are small pieces of the plane all over the field and you can see body parts.

We are all so shocked," villager Pratap Lama told the Kantipur radio station.

Eighteen people, including 12 Germans, were killed when a small plane crashed in 2008 in Lukla.

The 550m-long (1,800ft) sloping airstrip at Lukla perched on a hillside some 2,800m above sea level, with a steep 700m drop at one end, is considered one of the most difficult landings in the world.