Kathmandu: Thirteen Indian pilgrims were among 15 people killed when a private plane crashed in northern Nepal today after hitting a hill top while trying to land at high-altitude Jomsom airport.

The Dornier aircraft belonging to the Agni Air went down when it hit the top of a hill while landing at the Jomsom airport in northern Nepal, said an official at the Rescue Coordination Committee of Tribhuvan International Airport. 

“Thirteen Indian nationals, one Danish nationals and one Nepalese crew member were killed in the crash,” the official said, adding rescuers have so far recovered nine bodies from the wreckage.

Three people on board, including a crew member and Two Indians, have been rescued alive from the crash site, he said.
 
The injured people were taken to a hospital in Pokhara where condition of the three Indians were critical.

There were altogether 18 passengers including 16 Indians and three Nepali crew members in the ill-fated aircraft. 

The aircraft was heading towards Jomsom in the morning from Pokhara when it hit the hill, the official said, adding that there are possibilities of a technical fault.

The passengers had chartered the flight to take them from the central tourist hub of Pokhara to Muktinath, a famous Hindu pilgrimage in Jomsom near Tibetan border at the foot of the Thorong La Himalayan mountain pass, the official said.

The high-altitude Jomsom airport, about 200 km northwest of the capital, is a gateway to a popular tourism and trekking destination situated more than 2,600 m above sea level.