Katmandu, Nepal: A Sita Air plane carrying 16 passengers and three crew crashed minutes after takeoff around 6.30am (1045 AEST) on Friday aircraft was bound for Lukla, a small town in northeastern Nepal which serves as the gateway to Everest.
All 19 passengers on the Sita Air plane have died. The accident site is less than one kilometre (half a mile) from the airport.
The pilots seem to have tried to land it safely on the banks of the river but unfortunately the plane caught fire.
Dozens of army personnel were racing to the crash site to bring the blaze under control, The nationality of the passengers was not immediately clear.
Thirteen people on board were foreigners, while three passengers and the three crew members were from Nepal,Nepal has a poor road network and large numbers of tourists, pilgrims and professional climbers often rely on the country’s 16 domestic airlines and 49 airports to reach remote areas.
The latest fatal crash in Nepal – the sixth in less than two years – could potentially lead to new scrutiny of the country’s numerous small airlines, which provide vital links to remote parts of the country.
Aircraft and pilots often have to contend with bad weather and difficult landing strips in the Himalayan nation.The weather on Friday was reportedly clear.
Autumn is considered the best time to trek the foothills of the Himalayan peaks.
The crash follows an avalanche on another Nepal peak on Sunday that killed seven foreign climbers and a Nepali guide
