Plane crash at treacherous airport in Nepal kills fifteen

A plane crash at a treacherous airport in Nepal has killed 15 people.

The Agni Air jet was close to the high-altitude Jomsom airport near the Annapurna mountain range when it plunged into a hill. Six people managed to survive the crash.

Police spokesman Binod Singh told AFP: "The plane was about to land at Jomsom airport. It hit a muddy slope and the plane is now buried in the side of the hill.

"Fifteen people have been killed. Thirteen of them were Indian tourists and the other two were Nepali pilots.

"There are six survivors, among them one Nepali air hostess."

A regional spokesman for the Nepal police added that the location of an army barracks close to the crash site had aided the rescue operation.

This is the second lethal air accident for Agni Air in less than two years.

In August 2010, one of its Everest-bound planes crashed near Kathmandu. The accident killed all 14 people on board, including four Americans, a Japanese and a British national.

Image: Getty

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