No survivors in Nepal tourist plane crash

A small plane carrying tourists to visit Mount Everest has crashed in Nepal killing all 19 people on board.

The Buddha Air Beechcraft plane was returning to the Nepalese capital on Sunday, and crashed into a hillside while attempting to land in dense fog at Godavari, 10 kilometers from Kathmandu.

Kimlesh Lal Karna, head of the rescue department at Kathmandu's Tribhuwan International Airport, told AFP:

All 19 people have died. The Buddha Air-103 was returning from a mountain flight when it crashed into Kotdada Hill.

Other media reports said one person was rescued alive, but died of his injuries in hospital.

The privately operated aircraft lost contact with the control tower at 07:31 local time, reported the BBC.

Tourism Secretary Ganeshraj Joshi said that on board were 10 Indians, two Americans, a Japanese man and six Nepalis, including the three-man crew.

The cause of the crash is still being investigated, but Al Jazeera reported that one witness had seen the plane hit the roof of a house in the village.

Scenic flights across Nepal's mountainous region are popular, and crashes are not uncommon.

Last December in Nepal, all 22 people traveling in a small passenger plane were killed when it crashed east of Kathmandu.

In August 2010, all 14 people, including four Americans, a Japanese national and a British national; died when a plane heading for the Everest region crashed in bad weather.