Five seriously injured in Nepal plane crash

KATHMANDU: A small plane carrying 18 passengers skidded off the runway of a high-altitude airport on Thursday and plunged into a river in northwestern Nepal seriously injuring five, a police spokesman said.

The government-run Nepal Airlines Twin Otter aircraft crashed into Kali Gandaki river in the Annapurna mountain range, police spokesman Keshav Adhikari said, adding that all on board were injured.

"At 8:30 am (0245 GMT) the plane was landing at the Jomsom airport in Mustang district when its brakes failed. Half of the aircraft's body is in the water and the other half is on the river bank," Adhikari told.

"Five people including a pilot have been seriously injured. They are being airlifted to Pokhara for further treatment," he said.

Adhikari said the passengers might be tourists in transit from Pokhara to Muktinath, a sacred place for Hindus and Buddhists at the foot of the Thorong La Himalayan mountain pass.