DEADLY ACCIDENT IN NEPAL

DORNIER AIRCRAFT OF AGNI AIR

The aircraft belonging to local carrier Agni Air crashed near Jomsom airport, a gateway to the nearby Annapurna mountain range, shortly after the pilot reported a fault, a rescue official told AFP.

"Fifteen people have been killed. Thirteen of them were Indian tourists and the other two were Nepali pilots,"

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, but Bimlesh Lal Karna, head of Nepal's national rescue department, said the pilot had reported a warning light flashing in the cockpit as he descended to Jomsom.

The pilot told air traffic control moments before the crash that he was diverting back to Pokhara, said Karna.

"While returning to Pokhara, the aircraft seems to have lost balance," Karna told AFP.

The incident was the second deadly air accident for Agni Air in less than two years.