Kathmandu plane crash: All 19 on board killed

Update: According to an NDTV report National police spokesman Binod Singh, said that the passengers included 12 foreigners: seven from Britain and five Chinese tourists. The remaining seven, including three crew members, are Nepalese. Kathmandu, Nepal: A plane carrying trekkers into the Everest region crashed Friday morning in Nepal’s capital, and all 19 people on board are believed dead, authorities said. Thirteen people on board were foreigners, while three passengers and the three crew members were from Nepal, said Kathmandu airport chief Narayan Bastakoti. He said all the 19 were believed to have been killed when the plane crashed. The twin-engine prop plane belonging to the domestic Sita Air crashed onto open ground near the Manohara River on the southwest edge of Kathmandu, just minutes after takeoff. Weather conditions were clear. Firefighters brought the fire in the wreckage under control and police rescuers were trying to pull out the bodies, Bastakoti said. [caption id=“attachment_471916” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The plane was heading for Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest. AP[/caption] The plane was heading for Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest. Thousands of Westerners head to the region around the world’s highest peak yearly for trekking trips. Autumn is considered the best time to trek the foothills of the Himalayan peaks. The crash follows an avalanche on another Nepal peak Sunday that killed seven foreign climbers and a Nepali guide. AP