KATHMANDU: Fifteen people lost their life as the Agni Air's Jomsom-bound 9N AIG aircraft carrying 21 people on board crashed into the northern hills of Jomsom in Mustang district of western Nepal on Monday morning.

The ill-fated plane had flown from Pokhara with 18 passengers including 16 Indian pilgrims and two other foreign tourists and three crew members on board when it crashed at 9:30 am while trying to land at a mountain airstrip in Jomsom --a famous trekking and tourist destination.

Six passengers including three Indian nationals, two Danish tourists and an airhostess were rescued alive. It has been said that the aircraft turned into pieces but did not catch fire.

The air hostess rescued has been identified as R. Haiju.

Update:

The plane plunged into a hill close to Jomsom near the Annapurna mountain range, the news agency AFP quoted the Nepal Police’s Spokesperson Binod Singh. "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," Singh said.

It has been learnt that the Indian passengers had chartered the flight to take them from Pokhara to Muktinath, a religious site for Hindus and Buddhists in Mustang district.

The bodies of Pilot Prabhu Sharan Pathak and Co-pilot JD Maharjan have been recovered.

It has been also learnt that seven bodies of Indian nationals have been found near the crash site.

According to police official Nareswor Aryal, 16 people are Indians while two passengers are westerners.

The injured have been airlifted to Pokhara for treatment. The two injured foreigners and air hostess are receiving treatment at Manipal Hospital in Pokhara.

The plane met with the accident due to technical problems which disabled the plane's flight.

With this, the number of plane crash in Nepal has reached 71.

It was fifth plane crash in Jomsom area.