Kathmandu - Nepal plane crash

14 feared dead in Nepal air crash near Kathmandu.

A small passenger aircraft, carrying at least 14 people, has crashed in bad weather in Nepal.

The aircraft was travelling in heavy rain on Tuesday about 50km outside Kathmandu, the capital, when it crashed into the hills near Shikharpur village, according to Bahadur Shrestha, a police chief.

The aircraft was flying to Lukla, the entry point to Mount Everest.

There were thought to be at least six foreign tourists onboard, though their nationalities have yet to be identified. There was one crew member on the Angi Air craft.

"There was a telephone call from locals saying that the plane had crashed," Triratna Manandhar, a Kathmandu airport official, said.

"I cannot confirm on the basis of a telephone report. We are sending army helicopter for search and rescue."

Subina Shrestha, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kathmandu, said: "The rescue operation is on its way but they are having problems because the weather is terrible.

"Witnesses in the area say that the plane is in pieces and bodies are strewn around the area."

Shrestha said that the region is prone to air crashes because of bad weather and that there is about one air crash in the area annually.