Nepal Plane Crash

Moments before take off

The twin-engine aircraft, operated by domestic carrier Sita Air, carrying trekkers to the Everest region came down two or three minutes after take-off near the Manohara River on the southwest edge of Katmandu, killing 19 people in total.

Witnesses described how they heard the desperate 'wailing and screaming' of terrified passengers after a plane crashed in a fireball in the Nepalese capital killing seven Brits. Continue to view more photos of the scene.
The oldest British victim is believed to be 58 while the youngest is 27. Two of them are understood to be brothers. They had been due to begin their 16 day trek through the Himalayas with Hampshire travel firm Explore Worldwide today.
This morning the firm released a statement saying it was 'devastated' by the news and was sending a senior manager out to the country.
As a number of badly burned bodies lay just metres from the aircraft's shattered fuselage, bystanders described hearing desperate screams and flames coming from one of the plane's wings moments before it hit the ground at around 6.30am (00.45 GMT).
Five Chinese and three Nepalese passengers were also killed along with three native crew members.

Airport authorities said pilot thought he had hit an eagle just minutes after taking off.

Crew apparently became aware of 'intense heat' in the cabin and 'tried to turn back' to the airport.

Witnesses say the twin-engine plane burst into flames before landing near a river on southwest edge of Kathmandu.

They wanted to throw water at the flames but heat was too much and there were fears engines could explode.

Plane was heading Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest which attracts thousands of tourists every year.

Housewife Tulasa Pokharel, 26, whose house is just metres from the crash site, said she saw the plane with black smoke crash into an open space on the banks of Manohara river, according to myrepublica.com.
She said: 'That time I could hear some people inside the plane wailing and screaming. When we went to inform the police and other locals about the incident and came back, there was just silence. We saw the plane burning and all of them dead.' She told reporters: 'We could hear people inside the aircraft screaming, but we couldn't throw water at the plane to put out the fire because we were scared that the engines were about to explode.

Harimaya Tamang, who lives near the crash site, said: 'The plane appeared to be on fire already before it landed. We thought the pilot was trying to force land because it was on fire and the river area had open space to land.
'The plane hit the ground, bounced once but it did not break. The plane was already on fire, the local people rushed with buckets and tried to put out the flames but it was too hot and people could not get close enough.'
The Dornier Aircraft 9N-AHA was just a kilometre away from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu when it crashed. It was bound for Lukla, the main airport in the Everest region 35 minutes away. Airport authorities said that the pilot told them seconds before the crash how it had hit a bird - possibly an eagle.
The crew had apparently became aware of intense heat in the cabin shortly after take-off.
A spokesman for Sita Airways told the Daily Telegraph: 'There was very much heat and then the fire began. They were very close to the airport. After two or three minutes it crashed.'