Kathmandu - A plane crashed in Nepal's north-eastern Mount
Everest region Wednesday, killing 18 people, a majority of them
tourists from Germany and Australia, officials confirmed.
Rescue officials airlifted the charred remains to the capital
Kathmandu to begin the identification process.
Officials said most victims were burned beyond recognition.
Those killed included 12 Germans, six of them women, four Nepalese
and two Australians, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said.
'It appears that the aircraft belonging to Yeti Airlines tried to
land in heavy fog and hit higher ground on the perimeter near the
runway,' said Mohan Adhikari, the director general of Civil Aviation
Authority of Nepal. 'We will investigate the accident in detail.'
'Only the captain of the aircraft survived and he was airlifted to
Kathmandu for treatment and was in stable condition,' Adhikari said.
Witnesses said a cloud rose up the mountain cliff covering the
airport, reducing visibility just as the plane was on final approach.
Officials said weather and visibility had been good when the plane
took off on a half-hour flight to Lukla from Kathmandu.
Several planes had already landed and taken off from Lukla airport
before the accident.
After hitting the perimeter the plane burst into flames and came
to rest some 50 metres from the airport on the side of a cliff, a
witness said.
Nepalese television showed the plane in several pieces and in
flames with the passengers still strapped into their seats.
Rescue crews struggled to put out the flames as the airport lacked
firefighting capabilities.
The Nepalese government announced the formation of a five-member
high-level commission to investigate the accident. It is expected to
submit its report within two months. Officials also corrected an
earlier report of Swiss nationals being killed in the crash, saying
they were actually Australians.
The plane involved in the accident was a Canadian-built Twin
Otter, a type of aircraft widely used in Nepal for its ability to
service remote areas where airport runways are short and located in
difficult terrain.
The Lukla airport, located 2,743 metres above sea-level, is
considered one of the world's most dangerous places to land with its
steeply-inclined runway.
The airport is also one of the busiest in Nepal, handling as many
as 50 flights a day during peak season from October through April.
In March a United Nations helicopter crashed and killed 10 people
in stormy weather in Ramechhap district, east of Kathmandu.
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