KATMANDU (AP):

A plane crashed into a mountain in the Himalayas while trying to land at an airport in northern Nepal yesterday, killing 15 people and injuring six, some critically.

It was carrying two pilots and a flight attendant, all Nepalese, along with 16 Indians and two Danish citizens, both of whom survived, officials said.

Television footage showed the Danes being taken inside a hospital in the nearby city of Pokhara, the man being led on foot and the woman crying in pain as she was carried on a stretcher.

The plane was turning to land at Jomsom Airport when it crashed, said Laxmi Raj Sharma, chief government administrator in the area.

It broke into pieces but did not catch fire. Sharma said an initial investigation indicated the Dornier aircraft, which belonged to the local Agni Air company, might have had technical problems.

Rescue was swift because the plane crashed just few metres (yards) from an army camp at Jomsom.