19 dead as Nepal plane crashes after hitting eagle

There were 16 passengers and three crew members on the Dornier Aircraft when it crashed near the Manohara River in Bhaktapur District, Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority said. The river is in the same valley as Kathmandu.

The passengers included seven Britons and five Chinese citizens, said Sameer Neupane, an official at Sita Air, which was operating the flight. The other people killed were four Nepali passengers and the three Nepali crew members, Neupane said, citing the plane's passenger list.

Images from the scene showed emergency workers surrounding the plane's charred remains, trying to extinguish the flames.

Officials are investigating the cause of the crash and have recovered the plane's flight data recorder, said Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, where the plane took off from.

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